Lynn didn't stay long in the Occult Research Club.
After casually making up an excuse to fool Rias and the others, he left the school and headed in the direction of home.
Today was Friday, and school was closed for the next two days.
Not wanting to drag things out, Lynn took out his phone and sent a message to Genshirou Saji.
Lynn: "Are you free tomorrow?"
A dozen seconds later, the message turned to 'read'.
Soon, a message from Genshirou Saji came through.
Genshirou Saji: "I'm free, I'm free. I don't have cram school on the weekend. Lynn, is something up?"
Lynn: "If you're free, let's meet up. I need to ask you for a favor; I'll explain the details then."
How mysterious.
On the other end of the phone, Genshirou Saji scratched his head, looking at the message bar with some confusion.
However, being a warm-hearted person, Genshirou Saji didn't refuse Lynn's invitation and replied with an OK.
Lynn: "See you tomorrow then."
Having received a definite reply, Lynn sent over the meeting location and time, ending the conversation.
It was still early, not yet the time when office workers finished work, and he could occasionally see a few students on the road.
Strolling along the concrete path, Lynn was pondering his next plan when Ddraig's voice suddenly rang out.
"[Partner, can you provide some magic power? ]"
"Of course, but what do you need magic power for?"
"[Actually, after consuming those two chess pieces, I seem to be able to control that mass of Mist a little bit. ]"
Ddraig said this, a faint trace of anticipation in his voice.
"[Although I still don't know what this mass of Mist is, I can feel that its status is extremely high. Perhaps it can help me break free from the shackles of the Sacred Gear and regain my freedom. ]"
"Regain freedom?" Lynn was stunned, and the next second he understood Ddraig's thoughts.
He glanced around, turned into the alley on his left, and summoned the Boosted Gear with a thought.
"Just providing magic power is enough?"
"[Yes. I can sense that you have control over this Mist. As long as you provide the magic power to open the access, I can indirectly manipulate this Mist. ]"
"Then I'll start now."
Lynn injected magic power into the Sacred Gear.
After a while, the jewel on the surface of the Sacred Gear emitted a faint green light, and a wisp of Mist seeped out.
Under Lynn's gaze, this wisp of Mist transformed into a dragon the size of an index finger, flapping its wings as it flew around.
"[I succeeded!!!]" Ddraig, having regained his freedom, let out a cheer.
"I didn't expect it to actually work." Lynn looked at it thoughtfully for a moment, "Can you maintain it continuously?"
"[As long as you, Partner, provide the magic power. ]" Ddraig landed on Lynn's shoulder and replied, his voice still full of joy.
"[Thanks, Partner. ]"
"[I can feel the air is filled with the scent of freedom. This feeling is truly wonderful. ]"
Ddraig shook his head left and right, surveying the surrounding scenery.
Although it was just an inconspicuous alley, it felt very satisfying to him at this moment.
Seeing this, Lynn sensed the change in the Sacred Gear and provided a day's worth of magic power into Ddraig's body.
"[Huh? Partner, what are you...]"
"This bit of magic power is nothing to me. Since you feel it's stuffy staying inside the Sacred Gear, you can move around freely outside from now on."
Although it looked like he had broken free from the Sacred Gear, in reality, what was outside the Sacred Gear now was only Ddraig's consciousness; his soul was still inside the Sacred Gear.
In other words, the power of the Boosted Gear was unaffected and could still be used normally.
Since that was the case, there was no need to keep Ddraig's consciousness confined within the Sacred Gear.
He needed Ddraig's power, not Ddraig himself.
Having Ddraig's consciousness gone was a good thing for him; no one was nagging in his head anymore.
"[Oh, oh oh oh! Partner, you are such a good person! You're the kindest host I've ever met! ]",
On the other side, Ddraig, who didn't yet know he was being kicked out because he talked too much, immediately gave Lynn a 'good person card' and praised him wildly.
The man and the dragon walked out of the alley and returned to the crowd.
Under the effect of Sage Art, the surrounding crowd acted as if they saw nothing, ignoring Ddraig flying around next to Lynn.
"[Oh! That must be the supermarket! ]"
"[Partner, look! It's a little Baka Dog! ]"
"[This model is so ugly! How can he make a dragon model when he's never been a dragon? What nonsense! ]".
...
It turned out that Ddraig, having regained his freedom, not only didn't become quiet but became even more talkative.
Normally staying inside the host's body, although he could see the outside scenery through the host, it was like watching a movie on television—it lacked a sense of reality.
Now that he had a body, Ddraig was like a country bumpkin entering a big city, flying over to take a look at everything he was curious about.
Fortunately, Lynn's home wasn't far from the school. In just a few minutes, a large villa appeared in sight, and Ddraig quieted down.
"Lynn! You're finally back!" As soon as he pushed open the villa door, a graceful figure charged into him, latching onto Lynn.
"Why are you so excited today?" Lynn looked at Kuroka suspiciously, "Don't tell me you did something bad while I was gone."
"I didn't do anything bad, I'm just a little hungry. Haven't eaten all day, nya." Kuroka circled behind Lynn, pushing him into the house.
"The ingredients have already been bought. It's up to you to handle it now. I want to eat boiled fish today!"
"You went out to buy ingredients, why not just eat outside?"
"The food made outside isn't as delicious as yours!" Kuroka replied righteously.
Having traveled in the China for several years, Kuroka had experienced all kinds of delicacies. Because of this, she clearly knew how exaggerated Lynn's cooking skills were.
Compared to the food Lynn made, the chefs outside were like inexperienced rookies. Kuroka now had absolutely no interest.
"Huh? What is this thing?"
After pushing Lynn into the kitchen, Kuroka finally noticed a dragon flying around behind them.
However, compared to a normal dragon, its size was too miniature, its aura constantly fluctuating, and it occasionally exuded a demonic aura.
"That's Ddraig," Lynn introduced.
"Ddraig?" Kuroka felt the name sounded a bit familiar, "Could it be the one in your Sacred Gear?"
Lynn hummed in affirmation, giving his reply.
Receiving Lynn's confirmation, Kuroka instantly became interested and circled around Ddraig to examine him.
"How did you manage this? This is the first time I've heard that one of the two heavenly dragons can move freely detached from the Sacred Gear."
"This is all thanks to Partner's help." Ddraig glanced at Lynn. Seeing that he had no intention of hiding anything, he simply explained the whole story.
"The Mist that can devour Sacred Gears and Evil Pieces?" Kuroka was even more confused after hearing this, "What is that thing?"
Ddraig raised a wing and pointed at Lynn, "Partner says it's his innate talent, but I feel like he's talking nonsense."
Kuroka echoed with a nod, "He's definitely talking nonsense. Lynn loves to lie with a straight face."
With Lynn as a common topic, the cat girl and the dragon quickly started chatting, going back and forth, making quite a lively scene.
It wasn't until Lynn walked over carrying the freshly made boiled fish that they stopped communicating and sat down at the dining table.
"Ddraig, can your body eat?" Kuroka asked curiously.
"Yes, I can. Although it's constructed from Mist, it has everything it should have, and the sense of taste is connected too." Ddraig stood on his hind legs, holding a chopstick in each front claw, and in a bizarre posture, picked up a slice of meat and tossed it into his mouth, "Oh! So delicious! Partner, your cooking is the best among humans I've ever seen!"
Lynn looked at him with some doubt, "Have you eaten food made by other humans before?"
Ddraig picked up another piece of meat, "A few times, but that was a long time ago, and where I was born didn't have much gourmet culture. The food they made was very unappetizing."
As one of the two heavenly dragons, the Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraig once had his own followers, but that was thousands of years ago, back during the Celtic era.
As the totem of faith for the Celtic people, people often held sacrificial ceremonies for him. Ddraig had tried a few bites out of boredom, and he could only say it was no different from eating raw.
"I'm finally living a good life." After gulping down the soup from the boiled fish, Ddraig lay contentedly on the table, feeling that his dragon life was complete.
"Yes, yes. I never realized you had such cooking skills, Lynn. I feel like I can never leave you now, nya." Kuroka also patted her belly with a look of satisfaction.
"Stop being lazy and go wash the dishes." Looking at the cat and the dragon in front of him, Lynn inexplicably felt like a nanny.
Fortunately, he only needed to cook and didn't have to do the cleanup afterward, so overall it was quite relaxed.
Kuroka and Ddraig stood up. One controlled Sage Art to clean, while the other flew around moving the bowls and chopsticks from the table. With their combined effort, they quickly finished their respective tasks.
After finishing everything, Kuroka, whose mind had been clouded by the delicious food, finally remembered another matter, "Lynn, you should have met Shirone today, right? How is her condition?"
"She has some aversion to her own power and is suppressing it tightly within her body. But I made up an excuse to fool Rias and the others, and I should get a response soon." Lynn didn't hide anything and recounted the whole story.
After listening, Kuroka's expression didn't change, as if she had expected this outcome, "So next, Lynn, you're going to teach Shirone Sage Art, nya?"
Lynn nodded, "Although my Sage Art is average, teaching some introductory basics shouldn't be a problem."
"Speaking of which, it's been a while since I taught you Sage Art. Do you want me to teach you a couple of my signature moves?"
Kuroka leaned close to Lynn, a smile curling at the corner of her mouth, "Then you can show off in front of Little Shirone, and you're guaranteed to win her heart."
Lynn pressed Kuroka's head and pushed her away: "No need for any special skills. Compared to unreliable things like that, what I really want to learn is immortal techniques for establishing a connection with the soul."
"Immortal techniques for the soul?" Kuroka blinked in surprise: "Weren't you learning immortal techniques to activate bodily functions before? Why the sudden change of course?"
Because DanMachi Lynn needs it.
Lynn, without changing his expression, fabricated a reason: "I plan to establish a deep connection with Ddraig's soul. This way, I can maximize the power of the Sacred Gear."
"As expected of my Partner! Always thinking ahead!" Ddraig raised his two small paws and clapped them.
"So, he wants to further develop the Sacred Gear, nya." Kuroka also believed Lynn's explanation.
Having known Lynn for so long, she naturally understood his personality; simply put, he pursued power.
Before, he learned immortal techniques partly to break illusions and partly to develop his physical body.
Now, changing course to use immortal techniques to develop a Sacred Gear was a very normal reason, with nothing to doubt.
Perhaps because this matter involved the kitten, Kuroka was quite attentive to it.
After organizing the soul immortal techniques she knew, she seriously began to lecture Lynn.
After listening for a while, a somewhat bored Ddraig greeted Lynn, pushed open the window, and flew outside.
It was late, time to go for a stroll.
...
At the same time.
The Underworld, the capital Lilith.
A day later, Sirzechs, who was working, once again received a call from his younger sister.
"Devouring Evil Pieces to strengthen himself?"
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes."
Rias paused, then asked somewhat nervously: "Brother, can Evil Pieces be reimbursed?"
"Of course, but please wait a moment."
Sirzechs raised his hand and drew a Magic Array, contacting his friend who was doing scientific research in the basement.
A few seconds later, a light green Magic Array lit up in the office, and Ajuka appeared out of thin air.
"Sirzechs, is something wrong?"
"Well, I just received some news about the Red Dragon Emperor and wanted your opinion."
Sirzechs concisely relayed the matter of Lynn devouring Evil Pieces to Ajuka.
As the creator of the Evil Pieces, Ajuka had more say in this matter.
After hearing the story, he thoughtfully stroked his chin, his gaze falling on Rias on the screen.
"Besides devouring Evil Pieces, did the Red Dragon Emperor mention anything else he could eat?"
"He didn't say, but when I suggested he try eating a magic sword to see the effect, Lynn didn't refuse."
"I see. In that case, I'll send you a complete set of Evil Pieces later. Keep two Pawn pieces, and give the rest to the Red Dragon Emperor."
"I understand." Rias nodded.
Having reported the newly collected information, Rias's task came to an end.
However, she did not hang up the communication as usual, but spoke again after a moment of hesitation.
"Brother, Lord Beelzebub, Lynn said that if Koneko keeps suppressing her bloodline, it will cause her power to go berserk, and in severe cases, she could lose her life. Is this true?"
"Power going berserk?"
Sirzechs and Ajuka exchanged glances.
After a brief exchange of glances, Ajuka stepped forward.
"The Nekomata's power is quite special, and continuously suppressing her bloodline indeed has the potential to go berserk."
"Is there any solution then?"
"I haven't researched Nekomata. Since the Red Dragon Emperor discovered the problem, it would be better for you to consult him."
"..."
...