章節 9: And so it begins

It was the start of another pleasant day in a town called Kuoh. The people were waking and starting to prepare themselves for the day.

Kuoh was most famous for being a scenic little town with one of the best academies in the country.

Ezekiel and Jeanne were currently walking towards the towns church. Their apartments were in the same complex which was in the same district as the church. The first thing they wanted to do after their arrival was to stow away their belongings before taking a look at said church.

Ezekiel was now 18 years old and grew a lot in the last six years. His height now reached close to 1,90m while his body became even more muscular, courtesy to Vasco's physical education. His hair reached the midsection of his back. As to where his strength had risen to in the last years, he himself wasn't completely sure, but Vasco wasn't his opponent anymore and it took at least 2 seraphs to somewhat match him. Still the spars were kept in a form not to harm the surroundings and only serve as a vague reference.

Next to him was Jeanne. She has grown up to become a beautiful young woman. A few days after their first mission, she came looking for him and asked him to accept her as his subordinate. It seems it was a normal thing to do for seraphs and other high-ranking members in different factions. At first, he was unsure since she was one of his few friends, but after realizing that wouldn't change, he accepted. Without slacking in her normal training, she began to learn many other things a typical assistant would do. After all this time she ended up as some kind of secretary you definitely didn't want to cross swords with.

As for what he would need a secretary? Since became one of the leaders of the angel-faction he naturally had some responsibilities. Michael had to keep the system in check and couldn't leave most of the time and because of that Ezekiel took it upon himself to deal with outside forces and other factions. Jeanne would help him keep in contact with various members of different factions, while planning his schedule.

He still remembered the talk he had with Michael a few days ago. It seems this little town is bound to become the focal point of many important events in the future and needed someone of sufficient strength to keep it safe. Other relevant factions didn't dare to send stronger people here, but he was relatively unknown in the supernatural world for now. You wouldn't even need one hand to count the individuals that managed to learn of him.

They would use a covert identity while joining the academy for the next months. Of course, they didn't need to change their names, but they would act as normal humans and students in the open until they had to reveal themselves. The current year already started, but since they didn't come to learn, it wouldn't really matter.

While they were walking in enjoyable silence, they chanced upon two individuals walking into the direction of the church. Ezekiel instantly narrowed his eyes. He could feel emotions and guess what sort of person he was confronted with. One of the two individuals was a young blonde nun. She seemed to be innocent and pure. From his first impression, she looked like a person that wanted to do good in her life.

The other person of the two, while having a few good traits, seemed disappointing next to the girl. He seemed at least good enough to care for his friends, but these feelings were overshadowed by self-doubt, insecurities, and a heavy amount of lust. To top it of he was a devil, something Ezekiel doubted the nun knew. Aside from that there was a draconic aura coming from one of his arms. He was sure he had a Sacred Gear and from the looks of it a strong one at that.

While they were walking behind the first couple, Jeanne seemed to question him with her eyes. Ezekiel shook his head, already knowing what she wanted to ask.

"I feel suspicious just like you but let us grant him the benefit of doubt until he really does something. We aren't here to start a war. Considering he was reincarnated, he is most likely a servant of one of the heiresses here. I would at least lay low until we have a clear picture of the towns power structure and what is going on exactly." Ezekiel reasoned in a quiet voice. It was obvious, that the devil might hear them if he concentrated and they spoke loud enough.

"Okay Zeke, what are your plans?" Jeanne answered.

"We will see if he tries something and if not, we will just go to our apartments before taking a look around." Ezekiel said before looking to the front again.

After a while they reached an old church. While it wasn't the in the best of conditions, it would do for a town so far from the Vatican.

As expected, the devil excused himself when they came closer to the building. After saying their goodbyes the nun entered, while he turned around to leave.

While crossing paths with Ezekiel, the devil stiffened before walking away faster, as if he knew he wouldn't stand a chance. Of course, he didn't know that Ezekiel had anything to do with the supernatural world. He and Jeanne supressed their aura and acted just like normal humans would. To the devil's defence, Ezekiel's stature was nothing to scoff at and from the looks of it he was just recently turned. Habits like only relying on the appearance for a judgement of strength won't die that easily.

"Since he did not do anything for now, let us leave him alone. But I want you to keep an eye on the nun. The church in this town shouldn't have any personnel currently here." Ezekiel said.

"Understood. Do you want me to meet her or just watch for anything out of the ordinary?" Jeanne asked.

"For now, just watch. We still just arrived today. There will be plenty time to meet people. After we put our stuff into the apartment, I will look around the town for any faction that is present in Kuoh. We should relax afterwards since we will start school tomorrow." Ezekiel replied.

Jeanne only hummed in response. It was their first time away from the Vatican for a longer time. She knew they would face many conflicts in the future, but still looked forward to it all.

-o-

After their respective tasks, Ezekiel and Jeanne met up again in his apartment. Ezekiel was walking around the town, while Jeanne kept an eye on the church nearby.

"There are quite a lot of supernatural beings for a human town of this size. Most of them are devils, fallen angels and stray devils. A few humans seem to be involved as well, mostly stray exorcists and magicians. I really doubt their intelligence, hiding in this town. Not only are there two clan-heiresses of the devils, but they practically act out in the open. It is a surprise nobody did anything about it yet. It seems we have some cleaning up to do in the next days." Ezekiel talked about his findings, while Jeanne mentally noted down everything important.

"How was it on your end Jeanne?" he asked.

"It is the same as you said. Some fallen angels and stray exorcists have taken residence in the church. When do you want to deal with them?" she asked in response.

"Hm interesting. The nun we saw today doesn't really fit the bill. I want you to watch them for now and tell me if anything unexpected happens. Of course, if they go after innocents, we will deal with them immediately." He said, before turning to look out of his window. It had a clear view of part of the town, including the church.

Jeanne expressed her agreement before leaving him alone to ponder why the devils didn't do anything. Should this be some kind of trial for their little sisters? They could definitely do a better job. It just shows how inexperienced they really are. He wont ever understand how most supernatural beings with long lifespans waste away their earlier years and with it some of their potential.