Start a Core Pod

Chapter 996 Exploring the bottom (I can’t even open this crappy game, Granblue Fantasy!)

 Duanmu Huai always acted vigorously and resolutely, and it could also be said that he was too lazy to think about it. It didn’t take long for Naruse Mio and Wanria to enter Kuoh Academy as transfer students.

Their appearance naturally attracted the attention of many boys in Kuoh Academy. After all, Naruse Mio was beautiful and had a good figure. Although Maria was petite, she also attracted the attention of some boys with potential criminal tendencies. Moreover, she is naughty and cute, which makes many boys excited.

Of course, they were excited. When they learned that these two girls were relatives of Duanmu Huai, everyone had to stay away... Duanmu Huai was famous in this school, and no boy dared to feel uncomfortable in front of him. . Because of this, Naruse Mio and Maria didn't encounter much trouble on the first day they transferred to another school.

 However, for them, the next step is the real test.

"Hello, my name is Naruse Mio. It's our first time meeting you. Please give me some advice, Rias-senpai."

Standing in front of Rias, Naruse Mio bowed her head respectfully - her statement was not wrong. After all, Rias was very different from the grades in school and the time that both of them had lived as demons. They are all considered to be Naruse Mio’s seniors.

But...the two people are really similar.

 Duanmu Huai, who was standing nearby, was looking at Naruse Mio and Rias carefully, and had to admit that there were similarities between the two. For example, both of them have red hair, but Rias has long, loose hair, while Naruse Mio has twin tails, and in terms of temperament, Rias is more mature and stable.

 In contrast, Naruse Mio still can't hide her childish young girl temperament - how should I put it, Rias feels a bit like the adult version of Naruse Mio.

But I have to say that both of them are in good shape, and I don’t know who is bigger. Logically speaking, it should be Rias - maybe Naruse Mio? Hmm...you have to compare and contrast to find out.

"My name is Marija Naruse, and I'm meeting you for the first time, Lady Rias Gremory. I've heard the name of the red-haired Killer Princess for a long time, and it's like thunder to my ears. When I meet her today, she is indeed well-deserved."

Maria also bowed her head respectfully to Rias, and her little face that usually had a cunning and playful smile was tense and serious at the moment - it seemed that she also knew how to suit the occasion.

“I already know your situation from Teacher Duanmu.”

Rias also had a different expression than when she was talking to Duanmu Huai. Her whole person was filled with a coercive aura. She was seen sitting behind the table, staring at the two of them, exuding strong pressure and power.

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Feeling the pressure emerging from Rias, Naruse Mio gritted her teeth, and Maria also showed an uneasy expression. However, just when Rias was about to say something, Duanmu Huai stretched out her hand. Go and hold Mio Naruse's shoulders while looking at Rias.

“Minister Rias, I’m afraid it’s not good for you to intimidate new members like this.”

　　　…………”

As Duanmuhuai's words emerged, the pressure radiating from Rias's body was instantly released like a burst balloon, and she looked at Duanmuhuai helplessly and sighed.

"Indeed, Mr. Duanmu, as the head of the Occult Research Club, I shouldn't bully the new members... I'm sorry, Naruse-san, I just want to give it a try."

 “No, it’s nothing, I don’t care.”

 Naruse Mio shook her head and spoke in a low voice. To be honest, facing Rias just now did make Naruse Mio feel a little inferior. You must know that before coming here, she had heard Maria introduce Rias and learned that she and she were actually equal in terms of status. But after actually facing each other, Naruse Mio discovered that the pressure the other party brought to her was beyond imagination.

Obviously the other person is only one year older than herself, but Naruse Mio feels as if there is a completely unbridgeable gap between herself and Rias.

Fortunately, just when Naruse Mio was about to bear it no longer, she felt Duanmu Huai's heavy palm - like a mountain, which calmed Naruse Mio's mood.

Seeing Naruse Mio calm down, Rias coughed slightly, then she held her hands seriously and stared at Duanmu Huai.

"Teacher Duanmu, in principle, I can agree to your request. But... I think you should also understand that as a member of the Gremory family, I want to protect you who killed Marquis Zolgi, as well as Wilber The heir to the Te family has taken a risk, so I think I have the right to demand compensation."

  “Say it.”

Of course Duanmuhuai knows that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and what Rias said is right. She is taking risks when she wants to protect Naruse Mio and Duanmuhuai.

“First of all, I want to know your true identity, Teacher Duanmu.”

 Speaking of this, a sharp light appeared in Rias's eyes.

"At the beginning, I thought you were just a lucky artifact host, but I don't think an ordinary artifact host can easily kill a being like Marquis Zolgi... So, I can I will protect you, but I want to know your true identity."

Before what happened with Zorji, Rias had already had vague doubts about Duanmu Huai's identity. After all, even though he is the host of the artifact, his attitude is too indifferent. And that's not out of innocence of knowing nothing about the demon world, but more like a strong confidence in one's own strength. For example, Zorji, Duanmuhuai said he would kill him, and he didn't worry at all about whether he would be in danger later.

 It seems that in his opinion, demons as powerful as Zolgi are as unworthy of mention as weeds on the roadside.

Then the question becomes, can a person with such a big heart be an ordinary person?

“So that’s the question. If you had asked me earlier, it would have been fine.”

Under Rias' gaze, Duanmuhuai seemed very calm.

"Then, let me introduce myself again - I am Duanmu Huai, the Grand Inquisitor from the Tribunal... Well, please remember it."

 “Inquisition…”

Hearing this word, Rias's face became a little tense.

 “You are of the church...”

“I almost guess what you are thinking, but I want to tell you that the Inquisition has nothing to do with the church you think of.”

Of course Duanmuhuai could guess what Rias was thinking. He had already learned from Renali's shadow that there were currently three forces in the world, namely angels, fallen angels and demons.

 As for humans, they are more like a subsidiary force.

“The duty of the Inquisition is to protect mankind and eliminate all entities that try to harm mankind.”

Duanmuhuai looked at Rias and said.

"As I said before, the only goal of the Tribunal is to protect mankind. Therefore, whether it is angels, fallen angels, demons, gods or demon kings - as long as they dare to harm mankind, the Tribunal will not hesitate. Kill them completely. Yes, in the eyes of the Tribunal, humans do not need to sacrifice for gods or demons. On the contrary, if gods or demons dare to harm humans, then our Tribunal will completely eliminate them."      Speaking of this. , Duanmu Huai's body once again showed a strong murderous intent. Feeling this cold murderous intent, everyone's hair stood on end - as if they were standing on the edge of an abyss, and just one step would completely destroy them. Like falling into a bottomless abyss.

“So, are we demons also the targets that you want to destroy, teacher?”

Kiba Yuto, who was standing next to Rias, was tense at the moment. He stared at Duanmuhuai and asked, while Duanmuhuai glanced at him.

"Well... how should I put it? The standards used by the Tribunal to judge humans are different from what you think."

 “Not quite the same?”

 “That’s right.”

As Duanmuhuai spoke, he took out the rosette from his arms and unfolded it towards everyone.

“This is the Inquisitor’s rosette. Did you find anything?”

 “Why is there a skull on it?”

 Naruse Mio looked at the rosette in Duanmuhuai's hand and immediately complained. Generally speaking, shouldn't a rosette be hung with a cross or a statue of the Virgin? Making a skull made Naruse Mio feel a bit like those middle school decorations that the boys in her class played with...

 “That’s right.”

Duanmu Huai fiddled with it.

"This is the standard for the Tribunal to judge humans. For us, as long as the skull is human, then it is a human. So in the eyes of the Tribunal, no matter angels, fallen angels or demons, as long as your skull is consistent with that of a human, then the Tribunal They will treat you as a sub-race."

 “This is really…”

Hearing Duanmuhuai's explanation, Rias was a little bit dumbfounded. You must know that angels, fallen angels and demons have always considered themselves to be a nobler race than humans. As a result, Duanmuhuai said as soon as he came up that they could be treated as a sub-human race...

Well, if some radicals listened to Duanmuhuai, they would probably start a fight on the spot. To them, it's as outright offensive as monkeys think humans are just mutant monkeys without hair.

Duanmuhuai doesn’t care about this. Is the human supremacy of the Tribunal fake?

Not convinced? Are you convinced by the fist as big as a casserole?

“That is to say...won’t you, like the church, regard demons as targets that must be destroyed?”

"Frankly speaking? We treat angels, fallen angels and demons equally. As long as you don't harm humans, then there will be no problem."

Duanmuhuai didn't say the second half of the sentence, but he believed that someone as smart as Rias should understand what he meant.

 “If that’s the case, then it’s okay.”

Rias rolled her eyes and quickly made a decision.

"Then, here's what I'm asking for - I hope a few of you will join me."

 “I said, I will not be reincarnated into a devil.”

Duanmuhuai once again rejected Rias's request, but this time, Rias just shook her head.

 “No, it’s not reincarnation, but a temporary contract.”

 “Temporary contract?”

 “That’s right.”

Looking at Duanmuhuai, Rias nodded vigorously.

"I can help Naruse-san adapt to her power, educate her on how to fight and some common sense about demons, but my request is that I hope that the three of you can join my force and fight for me!"

 Next, Rias also explained the situation to Duanmu Huai, Naruse Mio and others.

 The reason why she made such a request was related to the "ranking game".

 The so-called ranking game is a game in which demons with noble titles command their servants to fight and compete. Only mature demons can participate in official ranked games, so Rias has not participated in ranked games so far. But she is about to reach this stage, so Rias hopes to increase the number of chess pieces in her hand to prepare for the next ranking game.

This is also the reason why she has been looking for Duanmuhuai again and again - in Rias's view, if Duanmuhuai can join her camp, then she will be almost invincible in the ranking game.

Generally speaking, the subordinates in this ranking game are basically demons reincarnated from chess pieces. But there is also a special situation where you can make a temporary contract, that is, you do not reincarnate as a demon, but you only temporarily gain the bonus of the chess piece to fight. Of course, almost no superior demons would use this method, after all, they are equivalent to mercenaries. As for the superior demons, they still value subordinates who are loyal to them more than mercenaries.

This is just like how even if aristocrats hire mercenaries to fight in the front line, they still trust their own private soldiers the most. Therefore, generally speaking, temporary contracts rarely occur.

 But since Duanmuhuai firmly disagrees with reincarnation as a demon, Rias has no choice but to settle for the next best thing.

"Um………"

Facing Rias's proposal, Duanmuhuai was silent for a moment. Then he turned to look at Naruse Mio and Wan Liya. When he noticed Duan Muhuai's gaze, Wan Liya didn't speak, while Naruse Mio gritted her teeth and said nothing. However, from her eyes and expression, Duanmu Huai already got the answer.

"All right."

 Duanmuhuai retracted his gaze and looked at Rias.

 “Then it’s settled.”

 (End of this chapter)