He had always been greedy.
However, greed isn't necessarily a bad thing. It could also be described as having ideals and ambitions. Throughout history, it is these that have driven human progress and achievement.
However, in terms of lifespan, Takeyo Kagutsuchi was no longer truly human. Not after he gained near-immortal power through the Incarnations of Vishnu.
"By the way, I wonder if that girl is still waiting for me there," he said, suddenly remembering something important.
Hadn't he tricked Jeanne into waiting outside Kuoh earlier? Given her earnest personality, she was probably still there, stubbornly maintaining her vigil.
It was after eleven o'clock at night. He should have been getting ready for bed.
"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check. I learnt some new magic today, so I might as well try it out and see what she's doing.'
Takeyo stretched out his hand towards the empty air in front of him and began to channel water magic. A perfectly calm water mirror materialised in front of him, its surface as smooth as glass with not a single ripple.
"And now for this," he murmured, making subtle adjustments to the spell.
After making some adjustments, the scene outside Kuoh appeared in the mirror's reflection. It showed the outskirts of the town where he had left Jeanne several hours earlier.
The outskirts of Kuoh.
The rhythmic clicking of high heels echoed through the deserted streets as Jeanne stomped repeatedly on the ground, her eyes blazing with humiliation and fury.
"Why?!... Why hasn't he come yet?" she cried, stomping her foot with each word.
The force of each impact generated tremors that radiated outwards, cracking the pavement. Looking at the deep crater formed around her feet from the accumulated damage, it was easy to see just how hard she was hitting the ground with each stomp.
Takeyo surveyed the countless overlapping craters in the area, doing some quick mental arithmetic as he did so.
"Based on the number of impact sites, if she stepped in a different spot each time, that's at least thirty-three stomps in total. If she carries on crying and causing these mini earthquakes, I'm afraid a local legend is going to form around this place."
He stroked his chin thoughtfully while watching the display.
Although this version of Jeanne didn't quite match his tastes, she was undeniably beautiful compared to her counterpart in Fate. She had so much faith in him and trusted him completely. Yet he had deceived her into letting mosquitoes bite her for hours in the wilderness.
Yes, it did seem a bit cruel.
He felt amusement rather than guilt, naturally.
Takeyo realised that his sign-in system, complete with its various powers, had brought out his mischievous side.
"Ah! Why hasn't he come yet? Has he been killed by that Fallen Angel? Or did he come up against an enemy he couldn't defeat?' Jeanne wondered aloud, venting her frustration.
After releasing some of her pent-up anger, she began to talk to herself in a tone full of genuine concern.
Because of her strong feelings for Takeyo, which had been strengthened by their interactions that evening, she didn't suspect that he had deceived her on purpose. Instead, she started to worry about his safety.
She was such a sincere and trusting person. Takeyo really felt guilty for tricking her so thoroughly.
But only a slight one. After all, it's simply too entertaining to resist teasing someone who is so endearingly naive!
"It's almost midnight! If he doesn't arrive soon, I'm going home!' Jeanne declared.
"Oh my, oh my! Who's been bothering our Miss Jeanne?"
Suddenly, a voice echoed through the space around her, seemingly coming from all directions at once.
"This is... Is that Georg's voice?' Jeanne recognised the speaker immediately.
Georg, the sub-leader of the Hero Faction, sent her to Kuoh to investigate rumours of mysterious phantoms appearing in the area.
"Hmph! I'm very unhappy right now!" Jeanne pouted and crossed her arms.
She was still waiting for the person who hadn't arrived yet. Had he got lost? Or worse — had something terrible happened to them?
"Oh? What's made you so upset?" Georg asked, his tone showing genuine curiosity.
"Tell me about it so that we can all laugh about it later," he thought to himself. He genuinely wanted to know what had caused Jeanne to behave so strangely.
"Well, didn't I come here today to investigate those phantom sightings?" Jeanne began, launching into a detailed account of her day.
She described how she had asked around the town about any strange occurrences, and had casually eliminated a few Fallen Angels who had crossed her path. She also dealt with some minor thugs who had harassed her, as well as other routine incidents that she considered barely worth mentioning.
Of course, the most important part of her story was meeting Takeyo, the successor to the legendary Mahatma Rama.
As Georg listened to Jeanne's tale, his expression became increasingly complicated. By the middle of the story, he had to resist the urge to laugh. His face had taken on such an odd look that he was glad Jeanne couldn't see him clearly.
"Um... I see... so then..." he said, managing to suppress his chuckles.
"Hmph!" Jeane huffed indignantly.
Steeling himself, Georg took a deep breath and looked Jeanne in the eye, adopting a serious expression.
"I think you might have been deceived by someone," he said gently, although the truth was harsh.
Although it was cruel, Georg felt that she needed to know. After all, it would be even worse if she never realised she had been deceived.
"I was deceived? How is that possible?' Jeanne's eyes widened in shock.
Could she really have been deceived by that handsome man who claimed to be Mahatma Rama's successor? There was no way.
Jeanne desperately wanted to deny it and tried to convince herself that it couldn't be true.
"Jeanne, I have a question for you. Do you have his address?' Georg asked patiently.
"Um... no," she admitted, sounding reluctant.
"Do you have his contact details?"
"No, not that either."
"Can you guarantee that you could find him again if you tried?"
"No, I can't," said Jeanne, her voice growing quieter with each word.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she realised what was happening. There was no way she could find Takeyo again. He could disappear without trace, leaving no trace behind.
"You see, you were deceived," said Georg, sighing as he rubbed his forehead.
Jeanne truly lived up to her humble French peasant heritage. In essence, she was a cultural and social disaster waiting to happen, lacking both street smarts and worldly experience.
"I... I... I..." Jeanne stammered, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.
No! Jeanne, you have to be strong! You can't cry! Remember that you're the successor to a hero. You can't crumble like this!'
She kept giving herself mental pep talks and trying desperately to stop the tears flowing. Despite her best efforts, however, the tears just kept flowing.
"Waaah! I was deceived! Georg, I've been deceived by a man!" Jeanne finally burst into tears, abandoning all pretence of composure.
"There, there," said Georg, scratching his head helplessly and exasperatedly.
He activated his Sacred Gear, Dimension Lost. A red mist began to swirl around them, preparing to transport them both away.
"Don't air our dirty laundry in public," said Georg. 'Save the crying for when we're back at base, where everyone can properly laugh at you,' he thought, though he kept that particular sentiment to himself.
The surrounding mountains were badly damaged; large sections had collapsed and the ground had sunk several centimetres due to the tremors caused by Jeanne's earlier outburst. As the crimson mist dissipated, Jeanne and Georg vanished from the outskirts of Kuoh.
Takeyo dismissed the spell with a wave of his hand as he observed the scene in his magical mirror.
"That's quite impressive," Takeyo mused. "The magic circle from Ajuka's tutorial materials is remarkable. Despite Georg's lack of thorough investigation, its concealment properties are exceptional.'
Everything he used was excellent. Ajuka's tutorials were invaluable resources.
"It's almost time for bed. In fact, tomorrow has already started,' he noted, glancing at the clock.
He had made it a habit to get up early, claiming whatever reward the system had for him when his daily sign-in refreshed at seven in the morning. This consistent routine had certainly helped him develop an early-rising habit.
"Hmmm?" Suddenly, green lights started to flicker across his ceiling.
"That's Ajuka's magic circle. Why is he contacting me so late?' Takeyo wondered aloud.
He was now intimately familiar with Ajuka's magical signature, recognising the distinctive pattern immediately. However, unlike the projection magic that Satan had previously used for long-distance communication, this was transfer magic. The real Ajuka Beelzebub was coming here in person.
"Is the Maou himself paying me a visit?"
Takeyo yawned and stretched. He quickly tidied up and stood in front of the transfer circle. Despite the late hour and his sleepwear, he wanted to appear as respectable as possible.
When the light show ended, a figure with distinctive green hair and an elegant bearing appeared in his room. It was none other than Ajuka Beelzebub, the Transcendent Devil.
'Sorry for disturbing you so late, Takeyo,' Ajuka said apologetically. "But I had urgent business to attend to."
"I've just finished preparing the testing equipment," he continued. "Would you like to come with me on a trip? It should only take about half an hour. I need data on your various power levels to improve my teaching plan for you.'
"Would you like to test my current strength?" Takeyo asked. "But I think my power might grow very quickly. Won't the data collected now become obsolete and lose its reference value soon?"
"That's not actually a concern," Ajuka replied, smiling slightly. 'While your growth rate is certainly impressive, the fundamental patterns of your power development will remain consistent. Understanding your baseline capabilities and how your various powers interact with each other will enable me to create more effective training programmes. Besides, even if the specific numbers become outdated, the relationships between your different abilities will still be valuable.'
Takeyo considered this for a moment, then nodded. If Ajuka thought it was worth doing, who was he to argue? The Satan's intellect was legendary for good reason.
"All right then. Lead the way.'
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