It was a few days after the attack by the rogue magicians and the mock battle with the Student Council. A week had passed since Rias and the others left for the vampire territories in Romania.
Then again, the trip involves a complicated route, so it seems most of that week was spent just getting there.
Today, everyone from the Occult Research Club and the Student Council had gathered at the heated indoor pool located in the basement of Issei's house.
"As of late, you've all been glued to the magician selection documents, and I imagine it's been mentally exhausting. So, today, we've borrowed Issei-kun's pool to give everyone a bit of a breather. Please remember, though we're here to relax, do so with moderation,"
Sona announced firmly.
"Yes, ma'am!" Everyone answered in unison.
As she said, the members who'd been constantly buried in paperwork had come together for a break. Some were raring to go in swimsuits, others wore shirts or jackets over their swimwear, clearly aiming to ease in with conversation first.
While Sona had framed it as a break from document screening, I figured there was more to it than that. Ever since the recent magician attack on the public school side, tensions had been running high. This seemed like her way of easing the strain.
Choosing to do this now, with Rias and Yuuto both away, probably wasn't a coincidence.
"Hell yeah! Not only do we get to see the Occult Research Club girls in swimsuits, but the Student Council girls too? This is a rare sight! It's like a dream come true—all beautiful girls, no exceptions!"
"I've never seen the President in a swimsuit before! With this memory alone, I could keep fighting for another five years!!"
Hearing Saji say something so pitifully cheap almost brought a tear to my eye. Just how unrewarding is his life usually?
Then Asia clapped her hands like she'd remembered something.
"Oh! Then, if it's alright, I'd like to introduce someone to everyone today."
Saying that, she stepped away slightly and opened a massive golden portal—a shimmering Dragon Gate. Then she raised her voice and chanted powerfully:
"—Answer my call, golden dragon! Crawl forth from the earth and receive your reward! Come forth! Fafnir!!"
As the spell ended, a burst of light appeared, revealing a golden-scaled, wingless, quadrupedal dragon—about the same size as Tannin.
Fafnir glanced around, seemingly scanning for danger. Finding none, he lowered his head and settled into a relaxed, lying posture.
However, his eyes locked onto Asia, who was wearing a school-style swimsuit, and didn't look away.
"One of the Five Great Dragon Kings, Fafnir... I never imagined he'd become Argent-san's familiar."
"H-Hey, Asia! Fafnir was the dragon sealed in an artificial Sacred Gear under Azazel-sensei's contract, right?! When did you make a contract with him!?"
Issei, clearly rattled, pressed Asia for an explanation, and she nodded.
"Yes, it's actually a very recent contract… I was told it'd be best to spend some time communicating with Fafnir-san myself before introducing him to everyone, and that's why I waited until now. Ah, Rias-sama, Akeno-san, and Rossweisse-san were present during the contract, so they already know."
So that means… Yuuto's the only one who's been left out. Ouch.
"Indeed. Azazel recently stepped down as Governor General, remember? He said he plans to support from behind the scenes rather than remain on the front lines. But that also meant Fafnir would've been pulled back as well—Asia-chan stepped in as his new contractor so his power wouldn't go to waste."
"Even so, contracting a Dragon King is exceptional. What kind of payment was required? Fafnir is famously obsessed with treasure—even the Gremory finances could be strained by his demands. Are you sure it's alright to summon him so casually like this?"
Sona's concern was valid, and Asia, looking a little flustered, answered carefully.
"W-Well… If it's just summoning him without asking him to do anything specific, he doesn't really demand anything in return."
"I, Fafnir, want Asia-tan's treasure as payment for work. That way, it's more premium.
Listen to Asia-tan's request → Receive Asia-tan's treasure. This is the Golden Equation."
If only he didn't have a piece of sky-blue fabric wrapped around the tip of his horn, I might have found his philosophy about the dignity of labor impressive.
"I see... So it's not just mindless hoarding of riches. I've heard that dragons have unusual values, but this is more like the obsessive tendencies of human-world collectors."
Sona was still analyzing the situation calmly—until Xenovia noticed it.
"Wha—!? That sky-blue cloth... I knew it looked familiar. Isn't that Asia's favorite pair of panties?!"
Her shout drew everyone's eyes to the tip of Fafnir's horn.
"Golden-haired beautiful sister Asia-tan's panties—supreme treasure. Someday, I want to collect enough to be buried under them."
"WHAAAAAAAAAAT!?!?"
Everyone exploded in collective disbelief at the dragon's open perversion.
"Waaaah! I knew someone would notice eventually!" Asia covered her face in embarrassment. Maybe she was hoping that acting casual would keep anyone from catching on—but honestly, we'd all seen her sneaking glances at the horn. It was only a matter of time.
"Hold on a sec! I mean, yeah, I get that Asia's panties are precious—but that was the price of the contract!? What kind of Dragon King accepts panties as payment!? Don't tell me Azazel-sensei gave him underwear too!?"
"Only golden-haired beautiful sisters' panties have true value. Azazel gave me legendary items. But Asia-tan's panties… those are legendary too. Equal value."
So to Fafnir, ancient mythical relics and cute girl panties are basically the same thing.
Honestly… some guys would probably agree. The darkness in men's hearts runs deep.
"N-No way! Fafnir, what's gotten into you!? You weren't like this before!"
"Yeah! You never cared about anything but gold and jewels!"
"That was before I met Asia-tan. That day, I felt a shock… and I realized something.
Until then, I only gathered treasure because I hadn't met Asia-tan yet.
Her panties are priceless. They hold value no amount of gold can match."
Even the Red Dragon Emperor and the Black Dragon King fell into stunned silence at Fafnir's passionate declaration.
Turns out, he wasn't uninterested in underwear before—he just hadn't met a girl who matched his ultimate collector's criteria. He wasn't randomly hoarding; he was discerning.
"Tch! This is bad. I can't let Albion see Fafnir like this. He's been weirdly sensitive about anything to do with butts lately… Panties are definitely off-limits."
I mean, yeah—panties and butts are basically the same category in the world of word association.
So, despite that minor incident, we managed to shift gears back to our original plan: playing and relaxing in the pool.
Fafnir was soaking in the heated water, his eyes glued to Asia, who was now playing beach volleyball with not only the church trio but also a few of the Student Council members.
"Water that touched Asia-tan... I want to drink this whole pool…"
…Honestly, he's an even more open pervert than Issei.
As for me, I was sitting at a round table with President Sona, Akeno-senpai, and Ravel.
Issei and Saji had both been dragged into the pool by the girls and were having fun.
Gasper? He's basically considered a girl at this point. Or maybe his gender is just "Gasper." Not even worth arguing anymore.
Kuroka and Shirone seemed to have chosen swimming first—they were currently racing across the pool with Tsubaki.
"Ahhh, this is the comfiest spot for someone like me~"
That voice came from Bennia, who wasn't in a swimsuit but had taken off her cloak and was relaxing under the table.
Rugal was lounging on a deck chair some distance away, watching everyone with the eyes of a guardian.
A side note about this pool—it's not just a standard heated pool. It's designed with a jungle theme! Apparently, it has different settings: the current one replicates a dense jungle interior, while the regular pool can switch to a tropical beach theme or even simulate waves and sand.
"Ufufufu, the person who designed this house loves hidden features. Even now, we're still discovering new ones."
Depending on the person, that could be seen as overkill. But hey, if you're hiring someone like that, you probably know what you're getting.
"Come to think of it, wasn't your house built by Grigori to keep an eye on the Children of God?
I wouldn't be surprised if it had just as many—if not more—quirky features hidden in it."
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100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
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