Rowan had returned to the Visitor's Center to wait for his peerage members for his quest reward. He had chosen option two. As he held the egg in his hand, he asked, "So, is this going to turn into a demon Dino?"
Sora shook her head lightly, her voice calm and matter-of-fact. "No. There's actually no way of telling what it's going to become. It all depends on you in the end."
Rowan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, it depends on me?"
"How strong you are,Your personality. Things like that." Sora explained smoothly, her tone carrying a quiet wisdom.
Rowan gave a small shrug. "Seems kind of random, but all right."
As the two were talking, Aika strolled up—drenched from head to toe, clad only in her underwear with her clothes clutched in one hand and a massive mosasaurus tooth in the other. She gave a smug grin and said, "Heya! I did it."
Rowan's eyes widened at her soaking wet hair, water dripping down her cheeks. "You did it, didn't you? You actually jumped into the water with it. Are you nuts?"
Aika tossed the tooth up and caught it with a laugh. "Hey, I won, didn't I?" Then she noticed Rowan's gaze lingering on her. With a teasing smirk, she leaned closer and quipped, "See something you like, boss?"
Rowan, with absolutely no shame, grinned back. "Oh, I absolutely love what I'm seeing."
Aika's face flushed pink despite her boldness. She adjusted her glasses with one finger, her voice dipping into a sly purr. "Oh, well… maybe I'll let you see more later."
Just then, a glowing system notification appeared before Rowan's eyes:
Aika Affection: +8
Current Affection: 30
Current Relationship: Perverted Master
Rowan mentally called out to Sora. How come the relationship didn't change?
Sora replied in her usual calm, instructive tone. "Past twenty, changes in relationship status only happen every twenty points."
Rowan nodded to himself. "Huh, that's good to know."
Next, Takina arrived and presented the alpha raptor's claw and said, "Mission complete."
Rowan gently patted her on the head and praised, "Well done, Takina. I was a little worried when you said you were going to take on an entire pack, but I'm glad to see you were able to take them down."
Takina's cheeks colored faintly, and she replied in her calm, reserved tone, "Thank you. I tried my best."
Takina Affection: +6
Current Affection: 27
Rowan thought to himself," Yep, I was right—she's weak to praise. Now, we're just waiting for Chisato".
Shortly after, Chisato arrived, holding up the gigantosaurus tooth proudly and saying, "I got it."
Rowan—grinning—teased, "You really went after a gigantosaurus? Good grief. None of you ladies think small, do you? Oh well—it's good to have an ambitious peerage."
He petted Chisato's head and added warmly, "I'll treat you to dessert later."
Chisato's smile widened with bright delight, and at that moment, Rowan received a notification:
Chisato Affection: +5
Current Affection: 25
Rowan thought, "Oh—so food is what does the trick. Got it".
Then he said aloud, "Alright, that's everyone. Sora, if you would—"
Sora nodded with quiet assurance. "You got it."
Everyone received a notification:
Quest Complete: Cabela's Big Game Hunting Jurassic Edition
Reward: New Skills Granted to all participants—please check your status.
Rowan and the girls opened their status screens. The first thing the girls noticed was that their power levels had gone up:
---
Name: Aika Kiryuu
Power Level: Peak Low Class
New Skill: Ursine Vigor
Type: Passive
Skill Description: Gives its user the strength and endurance of a bear.
Aika immediately tried out her new skill by pounding the concrete pillar behind her—obliterating it with a single punch. She smirked in satisfaction.
Then Rowan remarked to Sora, "I thought it said 'strength of a bear'—that looks a bit too strong."
Sora replied with calm clarity, "That's the strength of a bear added to her strength as a devil, which is already beyond human."
Rowan shrugged, smiling. "Oh—that makes more sense."
---
Name: Takina Inoue
Power Level: Low Middle Class
New Skill: Trap Magic
Type: Active
Skill Description: Allows the caster to conjure any trap they have knowledge of in their desired location—so long as they have enough mana.
Takina then conjured a basic tripwire bomb between two trees. Watching it detonate, she nodded in quiet satisfaction.
---
Name: Chisato Nishikigi
Power Level: Low Middle Class
New Skill: Phasing Magic
Type: Active
Skill Description: Allows the caster to temporarily turn themselves and objects intangible. The larger the object, the more mana required.
Chisato gleamed with excitement as she used her new magic to phase through a low wall. She giggled, "Sweet—now it'll be even easier to sneak up on people and dodge their attacks."
Rowan laughed, a little exasperated. "Damn, she's becoming a monster."
He cleared his throat. "Alright, ladies—come on. I've had enough of dinosaurs for one day. Let's head home."
He opened a portal back to the DxD World. Once they returned and time unfroze, Rowan was greeted by the sight of an annoyed Bancho staring daggers at him.
Sora gasped softly, "Oooooh— we forgot Bancho."
Rowan raised a hand in apology. "What will it take to calm you down?"
Bancho signed the words: Five loaves of banana bread.
Rowan sighed, resigned. "I'm on it," and he headed off to the kitchen
As everyone sat around eating banana bread, Rowan leaned back in his chair and asked, "Sora, how long till canon begins?"
Sora, resting her chin on her hand with a calm smile, replied, "About a month. I suggest you all train until then—especially you, boss. You haven't grown stronger since your last training. You don't want your peerage to surpass you, do you?"
Rowan sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I guess not. For now, the best thing to do is check out a couple more worlds. I need to find a new peerage member anyway—a peerage of four won't be taken seriously. I need at least six before the Youth Devil Tournament… which I'm still required to participate in, despite being a forgotten noble. Go figure."
Sora nodded thoughtfully, her tone both casual and calculated. "Yeah, six sounds good for now. And quests in other worlds will work fine—but progress will be slow if you keep going for small quests. I recommend something a little bit more challenging and time-consuming this time… like the gauntlet I put you through."
Rowan narrowed his eyes. "Can you guarantee their survival?"
Sora's lips curved into a playful smirk. "They're not you… so yes."
Rowan blinked. "…Oh, in that case—wait. What the hell's that supposed to mean?"
Sora gave him an innocent look, clearly enjoying herself. "I won't get any enjoyment out of tortur—ahem—I mean, training them… so I won't be too hard on them."
Rowan rolled his eyes and muttered, "Whatever. Just do it tomorrow—it's still the weekend, after all."