Kiba-san, and Xenovia-san too!”
Coming out from the castle gate was—Asia in her nun clothes. Ah, it really is Asia! “Asia, it’s been a while.”
“I-Ise-san! P-Please get dressed!”
Asia panicked at seeing my nudeness. She seemed to mean that, because she was embarrassed at my conduct rather than embarrassed at my nudeness, I should put something on. What’s with this girl, she was used to seeing me naked. “Ara, it seems everyone from the group that went out has returned.”
The next to appear was—Buchou! It’s been so looooooooooong! My Buchou! My onee-sama! She’s still just as beautiful as always! “Buchoooooooou! I wanted to see you!”
“Ise…You’ve become very robust, haven’t you? Your chest is thicker.”
She embraced me tightly while saying that. Ah, the feeling of Buchou…Rather, because my lust itself was suppressed during that mountain seclusion, the level of my arousal was intense from smelling the scent of the woman I missed so much…As I thought, women are nice. “Now then, everyone. Please come in. Once you’ve taken a shower and changed clothes, we’ll meet to report the outcome of our training.”
It seemed I was once more living the civilised life I missed so much. However, to report that I hadn’t attained Balance Breaker—it was truly shameful. This was actually the first time in over two weeks that we of the Rias Gremory group had all gathered together like this. After we had gotten our training plans from Azazel-sensei, I had been taken away by a dragon, but it seemed everyone else had split up after that as well. That’s why; this was our first gathering since then. To be honest, this may have been the first time that we had all lived separately from the rest of the group for so long. —Rather, I think it’s the first time since I had joined it as a member. Since I didn’t know about anything before I was here. After the ones who had trained outside, me, Kiba, and Xenovia had taken showers and changed our clothes, we all gathered in my room. Why my room? I had inexhaustible doubts about it, but it seemed that the reason was that it was easiest for them to gather here. It seemed there was a problem with going into Buchou’s room. Was there something there that she couldn’t show us? So, we had gathered and talked about the contents of our training. Kiba gave a detailed account of his training with his master. Xenovia also recounted the contents of her training. I spoke about my life of survival with Tannin too. Everyone else had it easy. Kiba and Xenovia had also trained outside, but they seemed to have trained while living at a mountain cottage and a villa belonging to the Gremorys respectively, and a life-style of hunting animals and plants in the mountain and avoiding the fire breath of a dragon for me seemed to be unimaginable to them. Huh? Huuuuuuuh? That’s strange. What’s with this? Could it be that I was the only one that had a hard time? I slept outside, you know? With no blankets, nor pillows. I had to sleep there while lying on huge leaves that grew in the Underworld…
“Umm, sensei, wasn’t I the only one living a cruel lifestyle…?”
“I was also just as surprised that you could survive on the mountain. I thought that you would run home midway. That you would begin to live normally on that mountain was also completely outside my expectations.”
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!? What’s with that…? I-I hunted, judged, baked and ate rabbit-looking animals and wild boar-looking animals native to the Underworld, you know…? I kept water in a water canteen after boiling and sterilising it once on an iron pan I found on the mountain…”
“That’s why I was surprised. You’re too sturdy. In some ways, you have surpassed devils.”
“How cruel! I lived while being chased around everywhere day after day by a dragon on that mountaaaaaain! Do you know how many times I was close to death!? Ueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!”
I cried at it all! Because! Because! Becaaaaaaaaaause! “I wanted, I so wanted to see Buchou! I wrapped myself in leaves and slept while remembering Buchou’s warmth every niiiiiiiiight! It was so hard! The dragon Ossan wouldn’t go easy on me and also attacked while I was sleeping! He blew off rooooooocks! I was assailed by forest fiiiiiiiiire! I ran awaaaaaaaaay! If I didn’t run away, I would have diiiiiiiiiiiiied!”
“Poor Ise…You endured a lot, didn’t you? Yes. Ise, you became so sturdy…That Mountain doesn’t have a name, but I’ll name it [Mt. Ise] from now on.”
Buchou pulled my head to her chest and hugged me! The feeling of Buchou’s breasts healed my tough past! Having endured so much shock, I also hugged Buchou back and cried enormously! So cruel! Azazel-sensei is cruel! He let me be kidnapped by a dragon! I still remember Buchou waving her hand below me! It was a kidnapping! Even thinking about it now, it was a kidnapping! “No, even so, your physical strength seems to have improved considerably. With this, the time when you can wear the armour in Balance Breaker has just about arrived. —But, you weren’t able to attain Balance Breaker, right?”
Azazel-sensei didn’t seem particularly disappointed that I hadn’t attained it. “Well, the possibility of you not attaining it was also within the range of my predictions. Yeah, you didn’t receive any shock, Ise. I mean, it’s impossible to attain Balance Breaker when there are no dramatic changes. I thought that something would be changed in you through the survival lifestyle and by coming into contact with a Dragon King-class dragon, but the time wasn’t enough. If it was at least for one more month…”
Impossible! If I had lived another month of that kind of lifestyle, I would die of Buchou-deficiency disease! If I couldn’t feel Buchou’s warmth like this periodically, I’d die! I buried my face in Buchou’s breasts and shook my head in refusal! No, no! I can’t take going to that mountain again! Buchou also gently caressed my head! Ueeeh! Buchoooooou! “Well, it’s fine. The report meeting ends here. Tomorrow is the party. You’re all dismissed for today.”
The report meeting ended with sensei’s voice. In this way, my survival lifestyle came to an end. The night of that day. It was bedtime, but somehow Asia and Xenovia were staying in my room. It had been arranged so that me, Asia and Xenovia shared the same bed. Unable to calm down with both Asia and Xenovia on the wide bed as well, I slipped into my bed. Asia was already sound asleep. Perhaps because the bed we shared was wide, Xenovia was laying a little ways away from me. Moreover, for some reason, she seemed to be unable to sleep as she just stared at the ceiling. Now that I think of it, maybe she couldn’t sleep until late because this was the first night that we shared the same room. “…What’s with you, you still can’t sleep?”
“…Yeah. When I think of it, I’m not used to sleeping with a man yet. Even if there isn’t a sexual meaning to it…I’m tense…”
Hey, hey, hey, seriously? You’re tense after saying those kinds of things? Well, it’s not like I don’t understand.