"My name is Asia, Are you Ophis's brother?"
The blonde nun's green eyes sparkled with genuine excitement as she looked between Takeyo and the small, dark-haired girl beside him.
"Ophis finally found her brother! I'm so happy for her,"
"Takeyo... not my brother," Ophis said softly, her emotionless voice carrying its characteristic flatness. "He is the one who made an agreement with me."
"An agreement?" Asia tilted her head in confusion, processing this new information.
Then, suddenly, her face flushed a delicate shade of pink as realization struck her.
"This agreement! Could it be... a marriage contract?!"
Her eyes widened in shock and amazement. 'Ophis already has someone she's promised to marry? And such a handsome young man, too?'
"I am Takeyo Kagutsuchi," Takeyo said with an easy smile, noticing the nun's adorable misunderstanding. "You may have misunderstood about the marriage contract, but I am indeed the person who made an agreement with Ophis."
"Takeyo... what is engagement?" Ophis's small head tilted slightly, her dark eyes reflecting genuine curiosity about this unfamiliar concept.
"A marriage contract," Takeyo explained gently as he stroked her soft black hair, "is an agreement where two people promise to always be together, supporting each other, helping each other, and living together."
The touch of the Infinite Dragon God's hair carried a unique, almost otherworldly texture that he found oddly satisfying.
"So..." Ophis nodded slowly, her expression thoughtful as she processed this information in her own way.
"Then... I am the one who made a marriage contract with Takeyo..."
In Ophis's simple thinking model, the logic was clear: they had agreed to defeat Great Red together, to cut off the head of that annoying dragon, and Ophis had agreed to help Takeyo grow stronger.
This mutual promise of cooperation and support, wasn't that exactly what Takeyo had just described as a marriage contract?
However, Asia, despite her notorious clumsiness and innocence, still possessed enough common sense to recognize something was off about this interpretation.
"Huh?!,"
She stared at Takeyo with an expression caught somewhere between scandalized shock and confused concern, as if he might be some sort of improper person taking advantage of a child's innocence.
But then, noticing the genuine confusion in both their faces, she seemed to reconsider her initial assessment.
"I think you may have misunderstood something," Takeyo said with a slightly helpless smile, noting Asia's changing expressions. "But to show my gratitude for helping me find Ophis, please allow me to treat you to a meal so I can explain properly."
'Asia, your imagination might be a bit too active,' he thought with mild amusement.
Ten minutes later, they were seated comfortably in a family restaurant.
"Oh, I see now," Asia's expression cleared as understanding finally dawned. "So that's what you meant!"
The misunderstanding had been resolved over tea and light refreshments, with Takeyo patiently explaining the actual nature of his agreement with Ophis, one of mutual cooperation and power development, not romance.
"It's good that you understand," Takeyo said warmly. "Now, Asia, is there anything I can help you with? After all, you helped me find Ophis. I must reciprocate this kindness properly."
"Where I can get help?" Asia thought for a moment, her expression turning slightly troubled. "Um... excuse me!, Do you know where the church in this town is?!"
"The church? I know where it is, but..." Takeyo shook his head slowly, his expression growing more serious. "I don't recommend you go there."
"Why not?" Asia asked with genuine confusion, her innocent green eyes widening.
"Because the church in this town has no good people," Takeyo explained carefully, his tone gentle but firm. "There are no angels or proper priests there, only fallen angels and corrupted exorcists. And actually, the fallen angels who were operating in this town were eliminated by... certain parties... just a few days ago."
His phrasing was deliberately vague. After all, Yuuma Amano, formerly known as Raynare, now served him directly after her faith had been converted through his Buddha incarnation's power. And according to Yuuma's reports, aside from herself and Mittelt, there were no other fallen angels remaining in Kuoh.
"Huh?!~" Asia's eyes widened in shock, her expression crumbling into distress.
'Mr. Takeyo said this? Then... then that means he's also part of the supernatural world?' The realization hit her hard.
"Destroyed?" Her voice came out small and confused, tinged with growing panic. "But... but I came here because I was exiled by the church. They said I was coming here to help... and now the church here is gone?"
The situation was becoming clearer to Takeyo now. Asia had been sent to Kuoh by the corrupt elements within the Catholic Church, ostracized and branded a witch for the "sin" of healing a devil with her Twilight Healing ability.
She had been exiled here, told she would serve at the local church under the fallen angels' supervision. But now, that very destination had been eliminated before she could even arrive properly.
Asia felt lost. She had nowhere to go, no one to turn to.
The girl who had been raised in the church since infancy, who had known nothing but prayer and service, suddenly found herself adrift in a foreign country with no support structure whatsoever.
"I... I don't know what to do..." Asia's voice trembled slightly as the full weight of her situation pressed down on her. "I don't have anywhere else to go..."
Takeyo observed her carefully, noting the genuine distress in her expression. This was the Holy Maiden of the Church, Asia Argento, possessor of the rare healing-type Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing.
In the original timeline, she would have been used by Raynare and the other fallen angels, then killed when they extracted her Sacred Gear. Rias would have resurrected her as a devil afterward.
But that timeline had already been thoroughly disrupted by his presence and actions.
"Asia," Takeyo said gently, drawing her attention back to him. "If you have nowhere else to go, you're welcome to stay with me for now. At least until you can figure out your next steps."
The offer was genuine. After all, he owed her for helping Ophis find him, and leaving a kind-hearted nun stranded in a foreign country didn't sit right with his principles.
"Really?!" Asia's face lit up with hope and gratitude. "Thank you so much! I promise I won't be any trouble! I can cook and clean and, "
"Don't worry about all that," Takeyo interrupted with a warm smile. "Just consider yourself a guest for now."
Beside him, Ophis simply continued eating her dessert, seemingly unconcerned with the whole conversation. As long as she could stay near Takeyo and work toward their mutual goal of defeating Great Red, other arrangements mattered little to the Infinite Dragon God.
But even as Takeyo made this offer, his analytical mind was already working through the implications.
Asia's presence in Kuoh was significant. Her Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, was valuable enough that multiple factions would be interested in either recruiting or controlling her. The church had already cast her out, but that wouldn't stop other powers from seeking to claim her abilities.
And then there was the matter of his current household situation. Ophis was already living with him, along with Yuuma Amano. Adding Asia to that mix would create an interesting dynamic, to say the least.
'Well,' he thought with a slight internal smile, 'I suppose my quiet student life continues to get more complicated.'
But he had made his offer, and he would see it through. Asia had helped Ophis when she needed it, and now it was his turn to help Asia when she needed it.
That was simply how things should work.