Capítulo 2: Contracted Magician
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"Quite the subtle location you've chosen," Takauji commented with a blatant amount of sarcasm in his voice as he observed the antique looking infrastructure before him.
Why are we in the old school building? If she's trying to ambush me then this is probably the worst way to go about it. I mean this entire place literally screams horror.
"I assure you that nothing underhanded awaits you, and I believe you'll find our club quite accommodating should you get to know us," she breathed a coy giggle.
Club? Wait, I'm pretty sure there's a club with a weird name using this building.
"We have arrived," they reached a rustic looking door. "Please, make yourself at home," she held the door open for him as a kind gesture. Letting him breathe in the grandeur of their abode momentarily.
The clubroom was fitted with lavish furniture, elegant decor, and objects that looked to be way above the school's budget.
Just how on earth did they get the faculty to agree to this? I don't even know what this club does for crying out.
"Is this him?" An authoritative voice spoke.
Takauji turned his attention to the center of the room, making eye contact with a woman just as beautiful as Akeno with bright crimson hair that reached down to her thighs coupled with a striking ahoge on her head.
An awkward situation would soon ensue, the two looking at one another briefly with an expression of neither pleasure nor displeasure apparent on their face.
She knows.
"Is there something on my face?" The woman asked in a composed tone.
He was quick to replace his poker face with a warm smile. "No, I was simply mesmerized by your beauty, Gremory-san," it was such a barefaced lie that the woman almost wanted to laugh.
Even her vice-president couldn't help but let out a constrained chuckle.
She was Rias Gremory, a third-year in class 3-A and the other half of the "Two Great Ladies" of Kuoh. Furthermore, she was also the president of the Occult Research Club which they were currently standing in.
"There's no need for flattery, Takauji-kun," she motioned towards the couches arranged in the center of the room. "If you would."
Something's off.
He retained his forced smile, sitting down on the couch opposite to Rias and Akeno. Looking behind them with a look of mild confusion.
I don't recognize them, they must be second or first-years.
To his surprise, there were two other supposed members present in the room. One of which being a knightly looking man with blonde hair and a mole under his eye, alongside a petite young woman with snow-white hair fashioned into a bob cut.
"As you've probably guessed, these are also my club members. This one here is Yuuto Kiba, and this is Koneko Toujou," she pointed to them respectively.
They each met Takauji with a polite bow, but offered to exchange no words with their guest. To which the latter met them with the same respect.
"So, why did you call me here?" He wasn't one for beating around the bush.
"Don't worry, I'll get to that eventually," she looked towards their in-house kitchen, hearing the sound of a kettle whistling. "But before I do, would you care for a cup of tea?" Akeno had already begun walking over towards it.
I don't like this.
"Haha, how could I reject such hospitality?" Her vice-president brought over a tray, pouring a cup for each of them as Takauji leaned forwards to look at the cup.
It had a warm jasmine hue, and a just as pleasant aroma to it, but as someone not very well versed in the craft he couldn't identify the blend.
He gently picked up the cup so as not to burn his fingers, and held it towards his chin. However, he did not drink from it.
"Is something wrong?" She corked her head.
"No, not at all," he still wasn't drinking from it.
It took a few moments, but eventually she figured out what was going on.
"I see," she drank from the cup first, and only then did Takauji follow suit. "This might seem out of the blue, but too much brooding isn't good for one's heart."
"I agree," he sat his cup aside as her expression eased up. "That is out of the blue," he could feel them recoil as the tension in the atmosphere returned just as fast as it had left.
Rias was quick to clear her throat and recompose herself.
"With the pleasantries out of the way, I think it's about time I got to the point of this meeting."
Indeed.
"Takauji," he noticed the dropping of honorifics. "You possess Mana, do you not?"
I knew it.
Other than the faint twitch of his ring finger, there were no abrupt oddities in his demeanor.
"Mana?" He repeated in a clueless tone.
"Mana, Magical Energy, MP, whatever you want to call it. We're aware that you're a possessor of it," she calmly sipped her tea, awaiting his reaction with bated breath.
"Sorry, I'm afraid I don't follow," he shot her a condescending look as if she was just some deluded chuunibyou.
Which was pretty annoying, to say the least.
"Please don't play dumb with me, I assure you we have no intention to cause you any harm. On the contrary cooperating with us would be to your benefit," she grimaced internally. Noticing the stone-faced look of "I don't believe you" plastered on his face.
"What makes you so certain that I'm in possession of such a thing?" He had never tried it out in school, which meant either that they had placed cameras in his house or they had some other method of figuring it out.
"We can sense it," she stated boldly.
You're going to have to give me more than that if you want my "cooperation", as you call it.
"Unless you can prove to me you're a psychic or something, I'm afraid I don't find that explanation quite satisfactory."
"Psychic? Not quite," she stood up alongside Akeno. Causing him to raise his brow as he wondered what they were up to.
And then the sound of fluttering echoed.
What the hell.
The amount of restraint it took for him not to drop his teacup was beyond admirable.
"We're Devils."
He removed his glasses temporarily, wiping the lens with the bottom of his shirt as he felt the need to confirm reality.
"Are those, wings?" He couldn't help but ask, staring at the two bat-like wings protruding out of their backs.
"Mhm," Rias moved hers up and down, confirming to him that they were in fact real.
"I need a second," she just continued to smile at him as he paced around the room for exactly 4.3 seconds before sitting right back down. "Alright I'm good."
"Oh? You can take a little more time to process if you need," she had expected him to need at least a few minutes of contemplation.
If my power exists, then I suppose it makes sense for a whole lot of other strange phenomena to appear.
"No, I'm fine," he adjusted his tie. "But are you really Devils? I mean you look pretty, how do I put it, human."
"A piece of advice from here on out, don't believe everything you read in fantasy books."
"Fair enough," he nodded, leaning into the couch as he continued to gather his thoughts.
"Now that we've shown you our hand, don't you think it's only right that you do the same?" He took a few moments to think the decision over.
Unless she's a master manipulator, I don't think she was lying when she said that cooperation could earn me some benefits. What I should be worried about is what comes after that.
"Very well," he opened his palm. Focusing as a bizarre shadowy substance started to form in the center of his palm. "This is all I'm capable of doing right now, so I apologize if it isn't as flashy as you'd have liked."
She leaned closer, observing the tangible darkness with a finger on her chin.
"I see," she hummed. "You have a darkness affinity."
Darkness?
"People born with Mana such as yourself normally have an attunement to a specific type of Magic, or in rarer cases multiple. What you have there is one of the rarer forms of Elemental Magic called darkness."
He listened attentively as she took a seat beside him.
"When did you first acquire the ability to use it?"
"Only about a week ago."
"I see, the Magic humans use isn't something one can master without proper guidance so it makes sense that you aren't able to do much with it as of now."
I think I can see where this is going.
"When you mentioned that this meeting could be of benefit to me, I imagine you were referring to your capacity to teach me?"
"Precisely," she beamed. "Actually, collaboration between Devils and Magicians is pretty common. The Magic humans use was originally derived from the study of Demonic Power, which is what we Devils wield. Throughout the years Devils have made contracts with Magician's in exchange for access to the spells and formulas they create."
So she wants me to make a contract with her? But I possess no skill whatsoever when it comes to Magic, which means she plans on nurturing me first before reaping the rewards. Surely such treatment will come with some sort of catch?
"And you wish for me to make one with you?"
"Spot on. The deal is pretty straightforward, you work for me, and I'll ensure you have all the materials you need in order to learn Magic."
As if it's that simple.
"I'm going to need you to elaborate on what work entails," he wasn't going to enter into something like a contract without sufficient knowledge.
"In that case I'll need to offer up some more explanation. You see, Kuoh is currently under the joint jurisdiction of me and another group of Devils. And it is our job to supervise and manage everything supernatural related that goes on here."
The Devils put a high schooler in charge of an entire town? I don't know if that's really a good idea but I suppose it's none of my business. Also there's more of you here?
"So you're like a government official for everything non-human?"
"That is one way to put it," her expression grew firm. "The thing is, lately there's been some disturbance around here, and I'd like to have as many people as possible capable of dealing with them on hand."
"You mean like, combatives?" He adjusted his glasses.
She nodded.
"I see," he pondered. "These contracts you speak of, if I were to enter one with you how long would it last for?"
The Devil's in the room flinched. Having not expected such abrupt decisiveness from someone who had expressed such deep paranoia.
"The duration of a contract depends on those entering it," her smile widened. "But don't worry, I wasn't planning on having you start with a long-term one."
"Oh?"
"Here's my deal, you will make a contract with me for a week. You'll get a chance to experience what it's like being a contracted Magician and I will teach you as much as I can throughout that duration of time. Then once it expires, you can decide whether you want to enter into a long-term one or not."
That's actually not a bad deal.
"You're basically offering me a trial period then."
"Yes, I am."
He stood up, looking her right in the eyes.
"I accept."
Devils, Magic, Combat, Contracts, and a sea of things I've yet to uncover. It's just too interesting for me to pass up. This just might be the color I've been looking for all along.
Might.
"Wonderful," she made sure not to sound too excited as that would probably set him off. She conjured a sheet of paper in her hand out of thin air and handed it towards him.
"You already had it written up?" Her lips twitched faintly. "Whatever, so do I just sign this with a pen or something?"
"That's half of it," she handed him a specialized pen. "Just channel your Mana like you did before when signing it."
He made sure to read over the terms carefully, just in case she decided to pull some "fine-print" on him.
But after a few minutes, everything seemed to check out, and he signed causing the contract to vanish.
"Make sure to come here first thing after school tomorrow, I'll spend today getting all your materials prepared."
"Will do," they shook his hands as he made his departure. Leaving the members of the club to discuss among themselves.
"Are you sure about this Rias?" Her vice-president asked her.
"Sure about what?"
"You know what I'm talking about, he has a darkness affinity," affinities often represented the characteristic of their wielder. "We could've at least run a few more background checks?"
"We could've," she said dismissively. "But you felt it too, didn't you? The sheer quantity of his reserves and his perceptiveness despite having no knowledge of our world. He has the potential to become a valued asset."
"Perceptiveness like that could be a double-edged sword," Akeno frowned.
"Perhaps, but that's why I have you here to protect me," she grinned, to which her Queen could only sigh and relent.
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His affinity has been revealed, and Akeno seems to have her own take on what that means for Takauji's character.
However, Rias has the final say on whether he'll be with them long/short time. Let me know your thoughts as always.
Word Count: 2289
10+ Advance Chapters: patreon.com/Accel14
Discord Link: KQAtTw9u7x
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