Chương 74: What?
There was an awkward pause as everyone took in Ashley's words. The dissatisfied and annoyed look on her face really sold her annoyance at being excluded from the fight. Before I or Rias could respond Sirzechs let out a light laugh at the situation. Rias threw a glare at him as it was his fault that we fought Hades in the first place.
"It was not really up to us Ashley, Hades just showed up and we had to fight him," I explained calmly, Rias nodding along. Ashley still threw us a pout not satisfied with that explanation.
"You still fought a god without me," Ashley muttered out as she kicked the ground in a dejected manner.
"Sorry Ashley-chan the next time a god shows up I'll make sure to call you over." Rias offered with an earnest expression. I look over at her with my eyebrow raised. That was not exactly a good offer as that would be putting her in danger for no reason.
"Thanks," Ashley muttered out still dejected but the offer actually seemed to bring up her mood. I let out a sigh, it might have been a stupid offer but it hit the mark in this regard.
Ashley turned around and looked at Rias' brother examining him before turning back to me.
"You did not invite him to beat up a god right?" Ashely asked with a small whine in her voice but it looked like she wanted an answer.
"No, Oni-chan just spied on us instead of helping," Rias explained while throwing a glare at Sirzechs. Seeing that Sirzechs winced again and looked like a kicked puppy. Ashley on the other hand had a constipated look on her face as if contemplating something before she dismissed it and returned to a neutral look.
She then closed the distance between us and hugged my arm. The familiar softness greeted me once more.
"Let's get out of here," Ashley announced as if proclaiming her dominance. Rias looked disappointed in the both of us leaving. Seeing that look on Rias' face Ashley hesitated for a moment before saying something else.
" You can come along too Rias, Prince and I can show you how delicious a Ragout Rabbit is." Ashley offered out with a complex look on her face. Rias blanched at the thought of eating that rabbit but she also looked touched that Ashley offered in the first place. I raised an eyebrow as I was not expecting the olive branch but it was nice seeing it. However, this situation was boiling in a way that would soon reach its peak.
"I would love to come." Rias let out finally while giving the Rabbit in my hands a pitying look. She was also not as attached to this Rabbit as it was not a gift. The critter in my hands twitched once more hearing those words and it threw a sad look at Rias trying to showcase how miserable it looked.
Seeing that Rias looked away quickly while chanting something to herself.
"Before you decide your dinner plans I have several questions that need answers," Sirzechs announced seriously as he looked over the three of us with measuring looks. Rias grimaced as she forgot about this particular conversation. Ashley looked at Rias and her brother with an interested look but just stayed by my side
I let out a sigh as this was expected but whatever it was not that big of a deal. Seeing us remain silent for the most part Sirzechs gave us an amused look before turning to his Sister.
"So when did you get involved in all of this Ria-tan?" Sirzechs questioned with a concerned look on his face. Rias looked over at her brother with a hesitant look before deciding to bite the bullet.
"Not very long, a couple of months," Rias muttered out for a second I doubted that answer but I realized she was right. A lot may have happened for me personally but this whole endeavor came about a couple of months ago.
Sirzechs looked at Rias seriously for a moment before nodding. He then turned to Ashley and me with his next question.
"What exactly is this Chat Group? I think I know what is going on but I don't have the full picture." Sirzechs asked again with a serious look instead of the smug punchable face. Ashley looked over at me with a questioning look and I shrugged. It did not really matter if he knew what was going on, he had a pretty good picture of what was going on anyway. He had been spying on us since I had arrived in this world. I may not have explained everything but there were enough clues available for him to piece it together.
"We are all a part of a Muti-Dimensional Chat Group, each member of the group is from a completely different reality. We can travel from each other's worlds while paying a small price that the Chat Group provides." I explained calmly running through the topics to ensure I explained everything properly. Seeing that I chose to respond Ashley just went back to hugging my arm.
Sirzechs was listening to my words with a serious expression the only difference in his expression was a mild widening of his eyes.
"What about that spell Rias got and the sudden changes in you?" Sirzechs asked before I could continue explaining. I was a little annoyed as I would have gotten to this point eventually but I let it slide. He was just a concerned brother trying to figure out the situation his Sister got herself in.
"As members of the Chat Group we can roll a Gacha for abilities, skills, and Items from each other's world. In addition to that if we complete a Mission we can receive a Gacha ticket that will pull from all realities instead of the ones connected to our worlds." I explained calmly. The reaction on Sirzechs face was clear instead of the minor alteration from before. He was clearly shocked about what I was telling him but he recovered quickly.
"That would explain it. Rias was able to tap into Hades Domain and he was not capable of stopping her even when he arrived. You on the other hand had your body changed in a second, you went from a strange human to a budding god with the properties of Anti Divinity." Sirzechs let out with thoughts flashing across his face. I raised my eyebrow at his examination, I never really considered his points and the fact he had such a clear reading on me was confusing but it also made sense. Hades also eventually reached the conclusion that I was a godling and the Anti Divinity was something I radiated.
Sirzechs then looked back at his sister with a complex look flashing across his face.
"Was that state you went into also gained from the Chat Group or were you always this way Ria-tan?" Sirzechs asked softly as he looked over at his sister in concern. Again I raised my eyebrow but I got it in a moment. Sirzechs' number one priority was the safety of his sister if she was always like that then she was in danger and that was something Sirzechs knew first hand. Rias looked startled at his question but she went to reply.
"I was not always like this, when I first joined the Chat Group I received the ability to go into that state from the Chat Group," Rias explained as she had a thoughtful look on her face. Hearing that a weight was lifting off of Sirzechs shoulders but he still looked like he had something on his mind.
"That's good," Sirzechs muttered as he looked away from his sister and back to me.
"These missions how dangerous are they? Could Ria-tan bring me along if she wanted to." Sirzechs asked with a serious look on his face. Rias seemed shocked that he would offer to come along but it only made sense to me.
"The Missions have not been anything we could not handle easily so far but I don't know if that will remain the case. I also don't know if she could bring you along on the mission. This whole thing is rather new to all of us and I can only tell you what we have figured out so far.' I explained hesitantly as I did not really have anything concrete to tell him about this. I knew some things from out of context knowledge but I did not know for sure if those things would repeat.
I don't think it would be possible to bring him along as the missions so far had a certain amount of Chat Members that had to attend which meant there was a quota. The thing is I was not sure if that quota only applied to the Chat Members or not. What if Rias held onto Sirzechs before she left on the mission? Would it bring him along or would she disappear without him?
These were things that we could only figure out with experimentation.
"I don't need you to babysit me Oni-Chan." Rias let out with a whine. I raised an eyebrow at that as she was reprimanding him for not helping her earlier so her current statement was hypocritical. I for one was fine with Sirzechs accompanying us as he was a pocket nuke as far as I was concerned.
Ashley was nodding along as if she agreed with Rias but I knew she just wanted all the fights for herself. I looked over at her and considered if she was always like this or if her Demi-God nature played a larger part in her battle mania.
"I know you can handle yourself Ria-tan, your fight with Hades really showed me that but the things the Chat Group gave you are too good. That means you might have to face foes you can not handle and I want to be able to protect you when that time comes." Sizerchs explained with a guilty but doting look on his face. Rias took in his words and looked away from him with a pout on her face. She clearly did not have a rebuttal to his point but she was not willing to side with him just like that.
"Meh, don't worry about that Prince here will pull some bullshit out of his ass," Ashley explained trying to provide some context in this situation in her own way. I gave her a look as her explanation was not really doing me any favors. She only returned a look that said she was right and I should know that.
I appreciated the acknowledgment but I was not always going to have the answers to every problem no matter how versatile I became. I just had bullshit luck and some rather versatile abilities that complimented each other pretty well.
There were beings out there that could stomp me into the ground despite all my advantages. I never planned on even naming those people in my head but I now knew they existed. I could only rely on Fortuna to ensure I never had the chance to meet them.
"I'm sure Ria-tan would appreciate being saved from a knight in shining armor but I would also like to make sure to cover all possibilities," Sirzechs explained with a small amount of amusement in his eyes. I felt my heart stop for a moment as I looked at Ashley from the corner of my eye.
She had her eyebrow raised at that comment while she looked at Rias with an odd look on her face before another look flashed on her face. Rias looked mortified and she was throwing a glare at Sirzechs but she did not look too guilty to me.
"Well, we can't really know the answer to your question until the next mission." I shot out trying to defuse this situation subtly. Sirzechs heard my words and thought them over for a moment before nodding. Rias looked relieved that the conversation was shifting and Ashley still had a look on her face but she did not continue this line of conversation.
"Who is the strongest in your group? If I am going to leave Ria-tan in their hands I would like to at least meet them." Sirzechs questioned as he looked over at us. There was a brief pause as everyone took in his questions before the two girls looked over at me
Seeing that I let out a sigh but they were right for the most part, Ashley had bonkers potential with her new toy but it would take her a bit to grow into it. I also had bonkers potential so she might not over shadow me, Fortuna would always give me an edge despite the overwhelming might of the Legendary Spear.
"That would be me," I admitted while looking over at Sirzechs. He looked over at me with a concerned look on his face as he looked over at his sister. I got it, Rias and I were barely able to handle the Avatar of Hades so my claiming to be the strongest was not the greatest reassurance.
There was an awkward silence in the air as Sirzechs was too concerned about what would happen on missions to ask further questions.
" So dinner?" I questioned as it seemed like there was no further questions coming. Rias' eyes brightened as she was not comfortable in the current mood going around. I looked over at Ashley to see how she would react, she had that look on her face but she nodded and looked over at Rias with a smug expression.
"Be proud Rias, there would be people who would kill to have me prepare them a Ragout Rabbit," Ashley spoke out with a cat like expression on her face. Seeing that look on her face Rias paused for a moment with a sad expression on her face as she shot a look at the Rabbit.
"Can't wait!" Rias spoke out with a certain amount of cheer as she looked away from the Rabbit.
"Wait," Sirzechs called out as it looked like we were about to leave. Rias shot him a pout and Ashley rolled her eyes but they stopped. I looked over at him as well as the guy looked over at his sister with an apologetic expression on his face.
"Don't spend too much time away Ria-tan, I need to teach you how to handle that state and I don't have a lot of time," Sirzechs explained with that same expression on his face. Rias froze for a moment as she took in his words. A complicated look on her face as she wanted to come but she knew learning to control that state was important. I remained silent as it was not my place to say anything here.
"Well make sure to have her back, don't worry too much like I said Prince will pull something out of his ass," Ashley announced as she let go of me and grabbed Rias' hand pulling her along. Rias had a hesitant look on her face but she was not fighting Ashley off. Ashley saw the expression on her face and rolled her eyes.
"Look, we just went on a mission you are going to have some downtime. You don't need to push yourself too hard. I just got this ridiculous spear that should help everyone get stronger quickly." Ashley explained calmly as she continued to drag Rias till she was standing near me.
The hesitance on Rias' face fell as she knew that there was going to be a grace period. She also had an interested look on her face in regard to Ashley's new spear. She knew Ashley got it in the Gacha and she read that it was S rank so it was truly something. I felt the same way as the Spear was really that strong.
I did not think about it but the Spear really could increase our strength rapidly with the Party System. We even had a monster farm in the form of Pyrrha's world. I was sure that Pyrrha would not mind gaining strength and culling some of the many many Grimm.
There was a small issue as we did not have a class advancement monument. We would be stuck at Level 40 while Ashley had no such cap.
I was not sure what we would do about that but I was sure we would figure something out. We had bullshit luck on our side after all.
The three of us decided to go to my world. Rias shot a hasty goodbye to her brother. Sirzechs had a concerned look on his face but he held his tongue for the most part.
With a flash, we were all transported to Ashley's mansion as we all grabbed hold of Ashley. I did not want to buy my own ticket to show up in my previous location. Even if it would only take me a brief moment to show up to the mansion.
"Welcome to my home," Ashley announced with a flourish looking at Rias with a glint in her eyes. Rias looked around but she was not that impressed which caused Ashley to have a pout.
I chuckled at this little display Rias had some pretty high standards when it came to luxury so this human mansion did not really impress her all that much. She did seem interested in looking around.
Hearing my laugh Ashley gave out a huff but seemed to recover she quickly grabbed the rabbit in my hands and started leading us to the kitchen. Rias winched again at the Rabbit being handled so roughly but looked away.
Before we knew it we arrived in the kitchen. Again it was not anything to write home about to Rias but it was the best money could buy in this current time line.
Rias did have a confused look on her face as I was sure she was used to seeing appliances with screens and a different look. Still, she did not bring it up likely putting it up to world differences.
I made a note to go to Argo's world to loot appliances as she would have the best of the best. There was also a lot of gaming stuff, I was sure Andrew would get a kick out of it at least. Petunia might be interested in virtual reality as well even if she spent too much time studying the books I gave her.
She was a woman on a mission now that she had an outlet for all her negative emotions.
Before any more words could be said Ashley snapped the Rabbit's neck with a disinterested look on her face. Rias had her eyes widened and looked dejectedly at the dead rabbit. She knew this was coming but she still looked sad.
"Hey, why don't you go look around while Ashley and I cook," I spoke out softly to Rias seeing her current state. Rias looked up at me and blinked looking back at the dead Rabbit before nodding shakily.
Ashley looked over at her with the Rabbit in her hands before rolling her eyes but she did not comment on Rias' squeamish tendency.
"The place has plenty of things to look at and it should not take too long with magic man here. Just don't go upstairs my brother is sleeping off a hangover." Ashley explained while shooing Rias out of the kitchen the dead rabbit left on the counter so Rias could not look at it.
I watched that happening and let out a sigh. Ashley and I would finally have some semblance of alone time. I would have to break the subject that has been boiling. At least I could get it out of the way before it ended up popping. I would have to make it clear that I did not return Rias' feelings.
Ashley returned by herself and we started the cooking silence with light chatter to entertain ourselves. I drained out the blood of the Rabbit with a snap of my fingers putting the sucked out blood in a container for later. I then skinned the Rabbit with another snap of my fingers. Ashley shot me a jealous look but she brandished her knife in a pose while shooting me a smug look.
She tossed the Rabbit into the air and activated Nine Lives. Her arms blurred into motion as countless strikes were aimed at the Rabbit. The Rabbit soon fell into the bowl in front of us in perfectly cut chunks while the bones fell on top of them.
I let out a laugh as it was such a waste of a skill to do something like this. She just shot me a smug look and I rolled my eyes. I looked over at the happy expression on Ashley's smug face before I decided to bite the bullet.
"Hey, Ash there is something I have to tell you," I spoke out seriously as I looked over at my girlfriend. She paused her cooking and turned to me with an odd look on her face as she gripped the knife in her hand tighter.
"What is it?" She questioned with a dark glint in her eyes that worried me but this had to come up eventually. I looked over at her with an apologetic look on my face that seemed to increase the dark glint in her eyes.
"Rias likes me, Don't worry I have no intention of pursuing that but I figured I should tell you before it comes up. I'll shoot her down soon." I explained hastily as I looked at the knife in her hand. She was perfectly still and I was really worried I was about to be stabbed but she was not doing anything yet.
"Is that everything?" Ashley asked darkly as she gripped the knife harder. Her eyes shone in a way that promised retribution if I lied here. Good thing I did not have to lie so I shook my head indicating I had nothing left.
There was a heavy mood between us for a moment before the dark mood evaporated like a dream. Ashley was back to her smug self as she rolled her eyes at me.
"Don't say shit like I have something to tell you Prince, you had me freaking out for a moment," Ashley spoke out lightly as she went back to cooking. I felt my thoughts pause as I was not sure how to handle her reaction for a moment. The mood she was outputting had me thinking things would end up with Rias and me stabbed.
"You're not mad?" I asked hesitantly as I did not want to poke the bear when things looked to be going well but I was just so confused. Ashley looked back at me and once more rolled her eyes.
"I was when it looked like you were going to say you fucked her or something. I was about to go rushing after her to stab a bitch but I fucking already knew she liked you." Ashley explained as she went back to chopping the vegetables for prep work. Again I felt like my brain needed a reboot as I took in her words.
"You knew?" I questioned with confusion clear on my face, again Ashley rolled her eyes but by this point, I felt like I deserved it seeing how nonchalant she was.
"Of course, I knew Rias looks at you like she is going to cum in her pants sometimes. Then she would blush for no goddamn reason." Ashley spoke out sarcastically while mimicking an expression I saw on Rias' face at one point.
"Her feelings were pretty obvious but I kind of expected you to seduce her anyways Rias always stuck me as someone easy and you have been bumbling around throwing sweet words at anyone you are remotely friendly with," Ashley spoke out with another roll of her eyes as I remained standing in stunned confusion. Seeing my state she walked over at me and grabbed my cock through my pants.
"Don't get me wrong you are mine, this is mine so since nothing came about this I'm not that mad," Ashley explained as she gripped onto my cock harder while looking up at me with a teasing grin. I felt my cock hardening despite the situation which only increased the glint in Ashley's eyes.
I felt like fucking her and having her scream out my name in this kitchen but decided to hold back as we had guests. Her brother was also here even if he was currently sleeping off a hangover.
Ashley must have had the same idea as she stepped back and got back to cooking. I felt a weight lift off my shoulder as I no longer had to worry about Ashly flipping the table. She was handling this in a way I did not completely expect but she had changed from that girl I met in SAO.
"I'll make sure to reject Rias clearly after dinner, you might not mind it but I should not lead her on," I spoke out softly as I stood next to Ashley to help chop some vegetables. Ashley paused and looked over at me again.
She seemed hesitant about something, her face flashing through her feelings rapidly before she settled.
"Don't." She eventually spoke out softly as she poked at the rabbit meat in front of her. I blinked at that and looked over at her intensely. She looked conflicted but there were not the heavy dark tones I was familiar with.
I still had no idea how to react to her words. The image in my head on how this was going to go was far away from those words after all.
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as promised SMWTP got 100 power stones so new chapter. Two bonus chapters still up if it reaches 2 or 3 hundred
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