A library of blades and abilities from other universes, all integrated into the Sacred Gear he already possessed.
At that moment, Zhao Lin allowed himself to smile.
Reincarnating as Yuuto Kiba had made him apprehensive at first.
The young knight of Rias was undoubtedly talented, but compared to some of the other characters in this universe, Kiba was far from powerful.
However, with the Library of Blades, any limitations he had as a supporting character ceased to exist.
He could copy or somehow manifest the skills of any universe. The potential of this was colossal.
Zhao Lin twirled the blade in his hand as he picked it up from the floor. "Should I start right away? I mean, this mission isn't going to complete itself."
Of course, he was eager to start unlocking abilities, but then he remembered what the maid on the other side of the door had told him.
"...Miss Rias asked me to get you ready so you can join her for breakfast. Your training will begin today. There are clean clothes in the closet."
Apparently, fate had already reserved an initial path for him to follow.
Well, he had no problem with that because he was actually hungry.
"Okay... first breakfast, then I'll see when I can do this mission. I can't mess everything up on the first day."
After making the sword disappear with a simple thought, Zhao Lin walked to the closet and opened it.
The clothes hanging there were all formal and similar, with only a few details differing, such as buttons of various colors.
Zhao Lin picked up a white linen shirt and put on a red bow tie. The pants were all very tight, so he chose shorts for more freedom during the training he would apparently have later.
As he looked in the mirror to check himself, Zhao Lin remembered that he was not the older version of Yuuto Kiba. He was six or seven years younger than he was in the series—just a ten or eleven-year-old child.
Looking at Kiba's memories, Zhao Lin could also deduce that he had very recently been saved by Rias Gremory.
Consequently, he was also a newcomer to the Gremory Mansion.
Most of the memories before that were like the fragmented flashes he had experienced before the system awakened.
Of course, Zhao Lin knew about the experiments that Kiba and his friends had undergone, but as a viewer and lazy reader of the novel, he didn't remember much about Yuuto Kiba's life before the experiments. The only thing he remembered was Kiba's original name: Isaiah.
While adjusting his tie and looking in the mirror, Zhao Lin decided that he would not be blinded by revenge like the original Yuuto Kiba.
He was a handsome and talented young man in this body, so he would not let himself be overcome by emotion.
"Act calmly and think rationally. That will be my motto."
With that decided, Zhao Lin adjusted his clothes perfectly one last time and left the room.
A wide, long hallway awaited him outside, and the silence of the Gremory residence was surprising. Supposedly, this place should be crowded with servants.
He was undecided about which side of the hallway to go for a few seconds, but his memory became clearer when he reached the grand main staircase.
The Gremory Mansion was huge, and he hadn't had time to explore everything yet, but now he remembered that this staircase led to the main hall of the mansion. The first door on the right of the hall was the large dining room.
Zhao Lin descended the stairs and cleared his throat before opening the dining room door.
"It's just a meal with a noble family, nothing special."
However, even the most pessimistic thought could not have prepared Zhao Lin for what he saw after opening the door...
"This wine is delicious! Another one!" exclaimed a female voice before throwing a wine glass that flew past Zhao Lin's head.
At the end of the long dining table, a woman with dark crimson hair and ruby-colored eyes raised another crystal glass and was about to throw it as well.
"Aunt Runeas! That's the thirtieth glass since we sat down! You need to stop!"
Ah, that explained everything! The red-haired woman with her hair tied in pigtails was Runeas Gremory, the founder of the Gremory Clan.
"Ah, Rias, dear! Wine should shout when drunk, not whisper like a shy servant!" Runeas gave an affectionate pat on the shoulder of the man sitting next to her — a red-haired fellow with a calm gaze. "Do you agree with me, little Lucifer?"
Sirzechs Lucifer, Rias's older brother, just smiled with almost angelic patience.
"In the morning, I only drink tea, Auntie. But I'm glad the wine is shouting enough for you."
"Bah! Tea is water in disguise!" Runeas snorted, throwing herself back in her chair and crossing her arms.
Next to Sirzechs, Venelana Gremory maintained a gracious smile as she held out a handkerchief to clean up the mess Runeas had left on the table.
"Runeas-sama, I know you love the Northerners' culture of throwing glasses on the floor to ask for more, but... these were glasses from the set used at my wedding..." said Venelana, barely able to hide her anger.
Across the table, Zeoticus Gremory just laughed as if he had grown accustomed to Runeas' whims for centuries.
"Come now, Runeas-san has always had this habit! She was the one who taught the Vikings!"
"Habit? They call it a habit now..." Rias massaged her temple.
The older people in that dining room behaved more strangely than the younger ones, except for a tall, gray-haired butler standing behind Runeas. Interestingly, his experienced eyes were the first to notice Zhao Lin.
"Young Yuuto Kiba, Miss Rias's Knight, has arrived. Good morning." He bowed with his right hand on his chest.
The dining room fell completely silent for the first time that morning.
Suddenly, everyone was looking at Zhao Lin.
"Ah, so this is the human my great-granddaughter rescued from death?"
Zhao Lin bowed slightly with a disciplined look, unsure whether he should enter the dining room or not.
"It's an honor to meet you," Zhao Lin replied after lowering his head slightly.
"Lady? Oh, what delightful formality! I already like him! He's the first in a long time to realize my true age!"
Rias cleared her throat, trying to regain control of the table. "Kiba, please sit down. You must be hungry."
"Thank you, Buchou."
Zhao Lin noticed Venelana's slight gasp upon hearing the informal nickname, but Rias smiled, satisfied with the respect behind its spontaneity.
The young man sat in the designated seat—close to Rias, but not close enough to seem intimate, maintaining a subtle sense of distance.
As the butler served bread and fruit juice, Zhao Lin kept his eyes down so as not to disturb anyone. It was a huge surprise to see Runeas Gremory, so he thought that if he got through this breakfast unscathed, everything would be fine.
"So, Kiba, did you sleep well?" Venelana asked, addressing him directly and without honorifics.
"I did, yes. Better than I expected, to be honest."
"That's good. Starting today, your formal training as my knight begins," Rias stated calmly before taking a sip of tea.
He had many questions—many indeed. For example, why was Runeas awake? Where was Akeno? And why did Rias seem so mature even though she was obviously much younger than the Rias he knew? Had she always been serious then?
However, the answers to these questions could come later. For now, it was important to let everything proceed smoothly.
Zhao Lin took the liberty of thinking about what he would do after breakfast. This was a big mistake.
"You know... there's something strange about you, boy," Runeas whispered in Zhao Lin's ear, startling him. In the blink of an eye, she was standing next to him.