The Maniac of DxD (Highschool dxd insert/ semi-crack): Chapter 24

“Um, Mr. Ren? Why are we in Greece?”

I smiled at the cute creature walking by my side and suppressed the urge to just hug her like the puppy she is and take her straight home to Akeno.

Yes, Asia Argento is the equivalent of a puppy given human form. Very pure, very innocent, and extremely naïve to the ways of the world.

I think she rivals Gabriel in the innocence department, given what I’ve observed in the short few days we spent in the Vatican, getting her used to being around me before our departure back to Kuoh.

The same, however, cannot be said about the two tag-alongs coming with us.

“Yeah! Why are we deviating from the path? Aren’t we supposed to return to Kuoh today and get ourselves enrolled in your school?”

Xenovia Quarta, the adopted daughter of a famed exorcist woman by the name of Griselda Quarta, is an annoying and arrogant person. However, she is also hopelessly clueless about the world in general and is easily fooled when it comes to common sense, just like her companion.

That is the conclusion that I’ve drawn based on what I’ve seen in the past few days.

She is headstrong, extremely arrogant in her skills, which is somewhat justified, and tends to look down on anyone that is not of the church, which is also somewhat justified given her upbringing. However, she is also easily fooled by people who know how to use these flaws against her.

Just like I did many times with her in the span of a few days. The cherry on the top is that the poor girl is not even aware of the fact that she has been fooled by me even now.

Then there is her companion, Irina Shidou, who is keeping silent for now and looking at her surroundings curiously.

This girl, while similarly talented, is airheaded in a different way than Xenovia.

Specifically, she is a religious zealot and very bad at keeping her money safe.

Case in point, the way she foolishly spent the entire budget given to them by the church for the upcoming year to buy a vase that depicted Saint Jeanne D’Arc preaching to the French people in front of a church. A fake that I planted with the help of my contacts to test the intelligence of these girls. A test that Irinia failed spectacularly.

Even an amateur who only knows a little history would immediately point out the flaws in this supposed ‘genuine’ art piece at a single glance. First of all, Jeanne D’Arc was made a Saint after her death, hence, she never preached to anyone in her life. Second of all, why the hell would she preach to the French people? The very same people who burned her at the pyre as a witch?

Even worse was that I deliberately included the marking of the Winchester Church on the vase. The very same church whose Bishop helped frame Jeanne as a witch and put her to death. Markings that the girl ignored and bought the vase as a ‘Religious Expense’ at an exorbitant price.

If I was a lesser man, I would have cursed the church and the angels for putting these two idiots under my care for the foreseeable future as part of the deal we worked out. However, I am no lesser man.

That is why I see the entertainment potential and rather long-term content creation in these two girls and their idiocy.

My subscription rate and views are bound to skyrocket if I broadcast the day-to-day idiocy of these two as a comedy show on my platform.

Shaking my head to get rid of those thoughts and get back to reality, I turned to Asia and smiled gently.

“We will leave for Kuoh in a few hours. But before that, I need to meet a friend for a few commissions.”

Asia’s eyes brightened up at those words, probably because she was excited to meet new people and see the world even more. Something that she had been deprived of all her life ever since she awakened her sacred gear from what her file said.

I am pretty sure that the church wouldn’t have existed till now if I was treated in the same way she had been treated by chaining me with a title and throwing me within four walls, making sure that I never leave them. Mainly because my arsonist tendencies would have come to the surface, and I would have burned it all down.

As we slowly walked down the street towards a particular bar, I lost myself in fantasies of watching the Vatican church burn to cinder, salivating at the beautiful sight that my mind conjured up.

……….Maybe I should give it a try and see what happens?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within a small and cozy bar, ran by an elderly couple and their granddaughter, A middle-aged man with a well-built body drank his wine peacefully, drowning himself in the noise around him and letting himself go in his memories.

However, he instantly became alert when his senses picked up a particular touki signature along with three others who radiated Holy energy.

The middle-aged man sighed exasperatedly before looking at the young girl in her twenties who was manning the bar.

“Maria, take a break and tell Christos to man the bar instead.”

The young girl raised an eyebrow at those words but wordlessly nodded and headed back, knowing that this man who had slowly become an uncle to her over the years had good reasons to shoo her away like this, particularly when his ‘old friends’ tended to visit him unannounced.

And none too soon since the moment she completely left the bar, the doors of the establishment were pushed open, and a young man of Asian descent, along with three girls of European descent, walked into the place.

Normally, teenagers like them would never be allowed into an establishment like this. However, those rules only apply to mortals, not to a force of nature like the boy who walked into the establishment as if he owned the place, which he might be able to achieve given how rich he was.

The teenager looked around the bar for a bit before spotting the middle-aged man, making him brighten up and smile in glee before plopping down beside him.

“Hey, Theus! Been a while.”

“….Why are you here? Ren? You need me for something?”

“How cruel! Is that how you treat someone who rescued you!?”

The man named Theus felt his lips twitch in amusement as he looked at the melodramatic teenager while two of his companions gave him weird looks, while the last one just looked between them with a clueless look.

‘….How cute’

Theus shook his head to get the puppy like look of the girl and turned to look at the human who he came to see as a friend in the past few years.

“You and I both know that you only ever visit me directly when either of us is in danger or you have something you want me to work on. Now, spill. What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time around?”

“Man, you are no fun!”

Once again, Theus just snorted in amusement and put his drink aside, knowing that the upcoming conversation would require his full attention and a sober mind.

Suddenly, Ren gained a somewhat serious look, making Theus sit up straight.

“Theus, I need your help in securing a certain item. But be warned, you will be wading through very, very tough security, and if you are caught, the previous punishment you went through will look like child’s play compared to what they will do to you.”

“You up for it?”

The bar descended into silence as Theus used his primordial energies to push out all noise, allowing him time to think and look seriously at his young friend.

“Ren. If it were not for you, I would still be rotting on top of that mountain, bearing the agony of having my liver eaten every day by that accursed bird for the sole reason that I helped your people move away from depending on the gods for everything. So, even if you ask me to repeat my first crime all over again, I will still do it because my debt to you is something that cannot be repaid in your lifetime.”

Ren smiled at those words and silently moved a file toward his friend.

However, the smiling Titan in disguise slowly made a frown, which then turned into an expression of terror before staring at the grinning Ren.

“….On second thought, can I refuse?”

“No. Good luck, Theus, you are going to need it.”

With those words, the humans left behind a despairing titan that swore revenge in his heart but still got up from his chair and walked deeper into the bar, knowing that he will need to prepare extensively if he wanted this heist to succeed.