Chapter 75: Millicas’s Teacher

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"I hope you don't mind me asking, but you are the same age as my daughter, correct?" Venelana asked Takauji as they made conversation, Alucard remained beside him as she examined the room. 

"I am." 

"I see," naturally she had her questions about his appearance relative to his age, but decided it was a bit too early to start poking. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but she'll be coming here with her peerage soon to prepare for her rating game against my nephew Saiarog. I hope that won't be a problem?" 

"Why would it be?" 

A bit of apprehension became evident on her face. 

"I mean, you and my daughter's relationship isn't exactly as affable as I hoped it would be." She said with mild unease, unsure how he would react to her arrival. 

"Worried I'll try something?" He chuckled softly, continuing before Venelana could intervene. "You have my word that I won't do anything for your daughter, though I imagine my presence might be a little distracting for her wouldn't you agree?" 

"That's possible." 

"Do you wish for me to amend our relationship?" He didn't need her to say it aloud, able to read it all over her face. 

"That would be ideal." 

"Even if I was interested in such a thing," Venelana frowned a little upon hearing that. "I've caused her lover a great deal of pain, do you honestly believe amendment will be that easy?" 

She took a sharp breath, steeling herself before responding. 

"About that, I was hoping we could talk about what happened between you, my daughter, and Issei-kun back then." 

"Go on," his mood didn't appear to sour at all, much to her relief. 

"The discourse began when Issei-kun got involved with Asia Argento, correct?" 

"Mhm." 

"From what I've heard, you purposefully allowed her to be taken by a Fallen Angel who is now serving you." 

"I did," there wasn't even a modicum of shame in his voice. "She then killed Asia Argento by forcibly taking her Sacred Gear from her, after which I recruited her by deceiving your daughter into thinking she was dead. You needn't seek confirmation, Lady Venelana, everything you've heard is true." 

She noticed the glint in his eyes, the glint tempting her to let her bottled up emotions run free. 

But to his dismay, she managed to keep them in. 

"Why?" She asked plainly. 

"That is the question isn't it? One people have started to ask me more and more as of late." He smirked, noticing that Chysis was listening in on their conversation. "But is that really what you want to know?" 

"Pardon me?" 

"Do you want to know the reason for my actions back then, or do you want to know the intent in which I did them?" Her silence was answer enough. "I did what I did because I felt like it, back then I had no thought out plan for how I wanted things to go." 

"Back then? So that's now changed?" 

"Indeed, now Hyoudou Issei's growth is a priority of mine, even if I were to somehow amend our relationship it would only hamper his growth wouldn't you agree? I don't see why I'd do that." 

"I can't refute Issei-kun's astonishing strength, but don't you think your methods are a bit cruel?" 

"Let me ask you a question for a change Venelana Gremory, did you actually care about Asia Argento's life as an individual?" 

"That's not the point and you know that," she said in a slightly harsher tone of voice. 

"He wanted to make sure no one close to him ever gets hurt again, has the power he's attained as of late not enabled him to make that a reality? I've kept track of the battles he's engaged in. How many of them would have resulted in your daughter's death if not for her protection?" 

"Are you trying to spin this as a good deed of yours?" 

"You can interpret it that way if you'd like, my point still stands. Asia Argento's death has fueled Issei's strength, which has led to a great many victories not just for your daughter, but the Underworld as a whole." He paused, finishing the tea he had been offered and setting the cup down. "I'm not trying to justify my character, you're welcome to view me however you wish." 

He knew exactly what he wanted and planned to do, people were free to think whatever they wanted to of his actions. Words would never be enough to stop him, only actions. 

"And what of Issei-kun's solace? Will you keep that from him indefinitely?" 

"No, he'll get it eventually. When he's strong enough, that is, he just needs to first experience the harshness of winter before he can fully appreciate the warmth of spring." 

"He's a child, how much harshness could he possibly need?" 

"He's the Red Dragon Emperor, not a child." He glared at her, sending a faint shiver down Venelana's spine. "Your son fought in a war when he was even younger than Issei didn't he?" 

"And I hated every second of it." 

"But you didn't stop him." 

"Because–" 

"Because it was necessary," he finished. "I needn't remind you how many lives his strength has protected, and how many more it will continue to protect as he attains more of it." He smiled a little. "Let me guess, you're about to say the relationship between me and Issei couldn't possibly compare to that of you and your sons?" 

She had been caught red handed. 

"I may have no blood relation to him, but let's not lie to ourselves here. Issei is a convenient tool to the Underworld, nothing more. Feign as much affection as you want, if anything happened to him you wouldn't put half as much thought into it as you would Rias Gremory. If you care so much for his solace then why haven't you done anything to ensure it?" Both Chysis and Venelana swallowed a nervous gulp as they felt the hostility in the room rise. "Honestly, I was hoping you'd act as a balance for him by offering him hope to deal with his despair. Can you even begin to imagine my disappointment when I found out none of you even bothered to try?" 

Alucard put a hand on his shoulder, earning an appreciative nod in return. 

Takauji's expression softened upon seeing the beads of sweat running down their faces.

"My apologies, it would appear I got a little more emotional than I should have. I hope there's no hard feelings between us?" 

Rias Gremory and her peerage admired Issei's strength. 

The rest of the Underworld admired his usefulness. 

But the only one paying any attention to his actual headspace, ironically enough, was Takauji. The person responsible for it in the first place. 

Venelana needed a moment to calm herself down, and he waited patiently for her to do so. 

"No, of course not. It was rash of me to pursue such direct questioning, I hope you'll forgive me." She dipped her head. 

"There's no need, but I'll forgive you nonetheless." It was like Azazel had said, his personality could change at any given moment depending on his mood. "Now then, before I meet my student I'd like to get some rest if you don't mind. It's been a rather busy day for me." 

"Of course, I'll have a servant lead you to one of the guest rooms." She motioned for a nearby maid to approach, gesturing for Takauji to follow her. 

"Is he really the same age as Rias?" Chysis leaned towards Venelana, finding it hard to believe Takauji belonged to the same generation as her grand-daughter. 

"That's what I'm wondering," she exhaled. "I didn't figure out much during that conversation, but he definitely has something in store for Issei." 

"Whatever that may be, he did have a point." Chysis added. 

"About what?" 

"About how Issei is viewed by the Underworld, they don't see a child. They see the Red Dragon Emperor who's currently working for Rias. Then again, I don't think that was the point he was trying to make." 

"It wasn't?" 

Chysis shook her head. "He was talking to us directly, and probably your son as well." 

Both women fell silent for a while, letting their thoughts wander momentarily. 

"Have we been treating him like a tool?" Venelana decided to ask outright. 

"Maybe not purposefully, but that doesn't change the fact now does it? Ignorance can be just as dangerous as negligence at the end of the day." She stated with a tinge of guilt plastered on her face. "Being the Welsh Dragon's host isn't an easy thing, we both know how Issei's predecessors all ended up."

"Do you think he'll end up the same?" 

Chysis breathed a deep sigh. "The fact that neither of us know the answer to that isn't really a good look now is it?" 

"No, it isn't. That needs to change." She said with a resolute look on her face. 

"Make sure you don't rush anything sweetie, you don't want your good intentions resulting in more harm than good." 

"That goes without saying." 

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Night would soon fall on the Underworld, or the artificial night to be accurate.

Millicas had just left Runeas Academy, a place where the children in the Gremory Territory were sent to study basic subjects like math, written language, and basic history. 

Even though he could easily have someone at home tutor him on everything he needed, his family had decided to give him a chance to interact with children his age more often, as well as keep his sheltered lifestyle to a minimum. 

Basically, they didn't want a Riser Phenex. 

"Lord Millicas, have you grabbed all your things?" An aged and well-spoken butler stood in front of a carriage asked him. 

"I have." 

"Very well, Lord Lucifer has a message he'd like to pass onto you–" Before he could finish his sentence, a round of gasps were heard from the other children departing the institution. All looking up as a large shadow encroached over them. 

"Woah! It's a Dragon!" 

"There's a Dragon here!" 

"Millicas look!" 

The young Gremory was left speechless, seeing the form of an obsidian-colored Dragon flying over the academy. 

"Lord Millicas! Please head inside!" The butler tried to usher him into the carriage, but it was to no avail. 

A cold shiver ran down his spine, noticing the Dragon's eyes locked with his. The enormous creature swooping down and producing a gust of wind that ruined the hair of everyone unfortunate enough to be caught in its wake. 

Numerous children all made an effort to run towards it, but their parents held them back, all unsure what to make of the beast's sudden appearance. 

Slowly, it started to make its way towards Millicas. Shoving the butler aside with its snout and bringing its head towards the child. 

"Are you Millicas?" 

"It spoke!" 

"The Dragon spoke to Millicas!" 

"I am…" He replied slowly, still unable to wrap his head around what was going on. 

"Get on." It instructed, lowering its body towards the ground. 

"Uhhh… Who might you be if you don't mind me asking?"

"Your teacher." 

"Teacher? I didn't hear anything—WOAH!" 

Already tired of his questioning, the Dragon scooped Millicas up with his snout, tossing him into the air and catching him on his back. 

Of course, the Dragon was none other than Takauji. 

He took off in an instant, moving faster than any of the Devil's eyes could follow, and creating an impromptu seatbelt for Millicas with [Umbral Rope] to prevent him from falling off. 

It hardly took a minute for him to get from Runeas Academy to the Gremory Household, less if he didn't have to worry about the G-Force being too much for Millicas. 

He landed in the expansive backyard, Chysis and Venelana both observing Takauji's Dragon form with understandable interest. 

Takauji tilted his body to the side, using his wing as a slide for Millicas to roll onto the soft grass. 

"Grandma? What's going on?" He noticed Venelana approaching him, still utterly baffled as to what was happening, but the fact that he landed in the Gremory Household at least assured him that he wasn't being kidnapped. 

"This here is Pandora, he'll be training you while your mother is away on business." She introduced, Millicas turning around as he watched Takauji return to his humanoid form. 

"I see… It's… nice to meet you?" 

"Likewise," he smiled. "I look forward to being your tutor from now on." 

Unfortunately, Millicas had no idea what his father had just signed him up to.