Chapter 38 - 37

As the dance dwindle to the end it was time to end this party. Now it was merely the time for the final gifts to be given.

One by one the lords and merchants gave out luxurious gifts. Carpets, statues, jewels, potions, unique treasures of all sorts, all and more were being given to the 'happy' couple above.

Koneko looked very upset together with Akeno as they could see the expression on Rias' face due to how her last gamble failed. It was truly miserable, only grown worse as the next person came to give out their gift.

"This has been a most interesting evening, I thank both lord Phenex and lady Gremory for the invitation for this most wonderful afair." Soma spoke with all the pompous and over-the-top nature expected of a noble in such a party.

Riser smiled broadly at his friend while Rias gave a smile that was more a grimace than anything else. She honestly hated Soma by now, comparing him to Riser already, if not worse.

Her heart hurt when she saw poor Issei being so cruelly beaten by him. She tried desperately to forfeit that match after it became clear that it was more a deliberate torture than anything else, but it was not to be as Soma's bounded field made her 'interference' unable to have any effect. She was forced to stay and watch as that brave pawn was hurt so much by this man smiling at her now.

Not only that, he raised a sword at her and, if not for fear of her brother (not really, mostly due to Riser) he let her go after just touching her skin. And even just that touch was still hurting as the light energy in that blade was far too potent.

Soma then took out a small package and presented it to them.

"I made these after hearing about the conditions of the engagement of you both and how vital it was to produce heirs to the family. I hope it is appreciated."

As he said it Riser took the simple package, by far the simplest so far, and opened it to reveal two vials containing some liquid inside.

"... What is this?" Rias questioned, curious slightly.

"This is a fertility potion I brewed. I made it so that it would enhance a normal human's fertility by around 40 times and I believe it should have similar effects on devils, if not more so considering it helps in making sure any fetus survive if fertilized. Of course, the effect lasts for about six months before it becomes impossible to be fertilized for the next six months period, but it can be taken again after that period and doesn't damage the body in any meaningful manner." Soma explained, shocking the crowd immensely.

One must understand, such a medicine, if it worked as mentioned, would be near invaluable. How many couples between pureblood devils that tried for decades, centuries, without producing a single heir?

Instantly the value of Soma, who could produce such a medicine, skyrocketed amongst the devils all around. Many already had thoughts about him entering their peerages, especially since he was still young and already able to fight at Ultimate class while being a human, so if he turned into a devil he could definitely be at the peak of Ultimate Class, if not Satan class right away.

That was a huge temptation, and now that he could also produce a potion that could be sold out for prices even higher than the Phenex Tears? Well, that just makes things worse by many times over.

Riser held the potion with a smirk on his face while Rias' face paled at the thought of how this would confirm she would be 'raped' by Riser after their marriage for at least six months straight or until she got... wait a sec.

'I just need to be around him until I got pregnant and produce an heir, right? After that the marriage wouldn't matter much anyway, so wouldn't this also be a way to get me free of Riser later on? Better one year or so suffering him than centuries, that is for sure.' Rias thought before looking at the potion in her hands in appreciation.

Sure, they would be married, but she could just have her first time and all the things she wanted with someone she liked and later produce an heir with Riser before returning to live her life as she wanted. It was far from ideal, but it was definitely a much better chance for her own happiness than she would have in most other situations.

Looking at Soma she even found him somewhat decent considering he went through the trouble of creating such a potion to help her... or so she liked to think. She was just that desperate for any sort of hope to grab onto by this point.

In fact, Soma just made that potion to make sure Riser wouldn't bitch about his wife's bitchiness about every little thing, as that would be very annoying.

Riser was a good friend, but he speaks way too much when drunk and Soma was a good friend, but he has just about a thousand things better to do than hear Riser bitch about this sort of useless shit.

After that gift, a few other gifts were exchanged before the party ended. Riser began to prepare with the other young devils to depart for the bachelor party he had set up, before leaving he approached Soma.

"Bro, thanks for, well, everything. You really helped me out this time, so here." Riser said as he gave a summoning circle to Soma. "This is a teleportation matrix to send you to where the party will be happening. Go back home, change your clothes to more suitable ones, and then just put some magic energy into the circle. You will be sent directly to the party."

Soma took the thing, taking note of the circle and wondering how it works exactly, before speaking.

"Ok, what sort of clothes would be appropriate?" Soma asked and Riser gave a wolfish smile.

"The type that can take off easily."

Soma smirked as he wondered what exactly did Riser plan before said devil approached the other young devils and teleported away.

Soma was moving to the infirmary to talk with Aya and take her home when Serafal came in a hurry beside him.

"You, tell me, does that potion really works as you said?" Serafal questioned.

"I believe it does. All tests I've made using stray devils did not show any negative effects to the body and the effect on humans is guaranteed. I also adjusted the potion to make it compliment and not fight against the chaotic and negative energy that devils carry so its effects would not be diminished or eliminated by devil's innate energy or physique." Soma said, he said it easily despite how testing to make sure it worked as expected was a slightly laborious task.

At least it helped him collect data on how chemicals affected devils compared with humans, giving him an understanding of how poisons should work in case they were needed.

As for Serafal, one could almost see her mind running miles a minute before she spoke.

"Mr. Hanakai, on behalf of the devil race I would like to enquire about what would be an appropriate price for you to sell us the recipe of such a potion." Serafal questioned without hesitation. She knew it would not be easy to simply buy the recipe and he could just sell the complete potion instead to gain big, but she had to try and see how much he would want for such a potion as to make an estimation of the value he would want for the complete potion later on.

But, would Soma really want to spend who knows how long making the same potion? Of course not, he wanted to enhance his own strength first and foremost and the devils were sure to be of help for such a thing.

"I do believe I have a few things I would desire, I am just not sure you would be able to obtain them." Soma said and Serafal's eyes flashed for a moment before speaking.

"As long as it is within our means, we will do all possible to obtain such a potion."

Are you kidding me? A potion like this would make the devil race's greatest problem disappear. Their population would rise and they wouldn't need to keep reincarnating more and more devils to keep their numbers stable.

"I would like the holy shroud used by a saint, samples of eyes that carry unique effects including Sacred Gears of eye type, of course, don't need to go and kill the users, just send to me any stray devils or criminals who have those types of eyes. Besides that, I would also appreciate a few phantasmal species like unicorns, bicorns, maybe a few lesser dragons, and any other phantasmal species. Oh, and as many books as possible regarding the history of the supernatural and description of the races, including their biology, internal structure, and anything else. I would also appreciate the bodies of different species, as long as they are well preserved then they are suitable, and as many bodies of magic users of the human race itself, but do not go out of your way to kill them. Just send me whatever many you can obtain, but do not try to swindle me by sending just a small percentage of what you can obtain, if I don't feel enough sincerity I can abstain from further business with the devils and seek greener pastures later on. Oh, and the body of a sinner that was hanged, that would help as well."

As Serafal heard this she was quite shocked. Not because he was asking for much, but because he was asking for too little. All those things were easy for them to provide, sure they would be expensive but far from being impossible to obtain.

Finding that it was far too light a price she couldn't help but ask.

"Anything else?"

Soma, thinking for a bit, decided to just shot.

"The location of any living Evil Dragon or other disastrous monster plaguing the land as well as all information available about said beasts."

In the end, Soma desired to be a hero, a great hero, and for that, he needed enough merits. Merits were the most important to be able to become a hero since just morals don't make one worthy of that position.

He desired the position of a hero more than most other things in this world, and, in the end, few things spoke 'hero' more than slaying some giant monster or evil dragon.

Besides, those creatures would certainly provide rare and unique materials and he could potentially use that ritual that Sigurd and Siegfried taught him.

If he could obtain a mana core then things would become so much easier for him moving forward.

Besides that, the rest were things to make up for his lack of knowledge of this world, help him in improving the Sacred Gear he obtained previously for his eyes, and improve his defensive measures moving forward.

With the bodies of different species he could find out a lot about said species and even produce all sorts of undead using those bodies, and the bodies of magic users would make for wonderful necromancy weapons if he tried to copy what Mordred told him about a master she once served in a Grail War.

And as for the phantasmal beasts, those are naturally to improve his pocket realm to give it more life and to make it easy for him to harvest materials later on. It would be far more comfortable to do it this way since it would stop him from depending on others for such stuff.

As for Serafal, she agreed instantly. The price was still a bit small and would be somewhat hard to obtain those things, but the reward of solving their race's internal crisis was far too tempting.

But, Serafal was Serafal and she couldn't resist making a final request.

"We accept, but you must make a mahou shoujo stick like that you made for Aya to me as well."

"Absolutely not." Soma said instantly, making Serafal freeze.

"... Why? I swear I will be a good mahou shoujo and fight for love, justice, and peace. If the world ever needs a savior I will do it, so... can you make me a Mahou Shoujo?"

Soma sighed hearing this and spoke.

"Look, that thing I gave Aya is extremely dangerous. It allows the user to tap into the magical energy of all their counterparts in the multiverse, granting the user near-infinite magic power while strengthening them in various ways. As far as I can see it should not lose out when compared with a weaker Longinus in many aspects, and that is when it is a human using it. As a human I cannot just give something like that to someone like you who is already so strong, besides, I can only produce a limited number of said sticks and I already know who I am giving them so I can't just make you one." Soma explained to a now shocked Serafal.

As a Satan, and the one that deals with external affairs, she knew well the way the supernatural works and how delicate the situation was. If she actually got such an item that would skyrocket her powers then the other races and Pantheons might react negatively and that would be a piece of terrible news for the devil race.

Maybe after a peace treaty and an alliance between the factions of Christianity was signed she could do that, skyrocketing her powers not having as much negative effect as it would simply give a boost to their alliance's power and make it a bad target for others.

She knew it, she did, but...

"... Pretty please? I swear not to show it to anyone out there, I just want to be a true Mahou Shoujo. Pleaaaassseeee!" Serafal wined no different from a little kid.

Thankfully, she had activated a mystic code able to hide their conversation and actions to make it look like they were just having an innocuous talk, otherwise, the devil nobility would have the 'pleasure' of seeing one of their leaders throwing a tantrum that would make a five years old child proud.

After a while, Soma managed to disentangle himself from Serafal after he promised to 'think about it'.

And he did think about it, for all of two seconds before deciding NOT to make an overpowered devil even more of a monster. Seriously, if he actually made a Kaleidostick for her then who knows how strong she would get. Maybe even comparable to the level of a Grand Servant and THAT was a terrifying thought.

Coming to the infirmary Soma was about to ask Aya to take her home when she turned to him first.

"Soma-kun, Ravel-chan asked me if I would like to sleep in her house tonight. Would you mind that? We did come together to the party after all." Aya said a bit embarrassed.

She knew it was a tad childish, but this was her first time being invited to sleep at a female friend's house. She wanted to try it very much.

Soma thought for a moment before turning to Ravel.

"Ravel-chan, do I have your word that your house will ensure the safety of Aya during this period?"

"Of course, you can count on me and my house to ensure her safety." Ravel said easily, and it was absolutely true. Aya fought for her brother's honor and she was a close friend to Soma who was 'bros' with her brother and saved Ravel's life.

How could their Phenex house let anything happen?

The protection of a pilar house, if in the human world, is slightly limited due to most of their forces being in the Underworld, but in their own domains, even Gods don't dare take the pilar houses too lightly. That being especially so for a few houses that have the more outstanding defensive measures, like the Phenex who had the money to buy some of the best securities in the entire supernatural world.

It might not be as safe as in Soma's house, since it would be hard to find anywhere else that was safer, but it was still impressive enough.

Seeing no reason to refuse it, and wanting to give Aya more freedom, Soma agreed to let her stay and enjoy her sleepover. Anyway, there was still Diamond around and, with that in hand, unless Serafal or some other Satan moves to capture or kill her, Aya would be safe.

Using basic alchemy Soma changed his clothes to more comfortable ones that would be quite easy to remove, just as Riser said, before pouring magic energy into the teleportation circle Riser gave him.

In a flash of fire Soma was gone from this place, reappearing in what looked like a penthouse with a dancing stage on top. Riser and several of his friends were with some strippers around then and they were quite handsy, but Riser paid them well and the devils knew that they could touch to a degree but fucking was forbidden unless the woman wanted it as well.

**** was a big no-no for Riser, he cared for women in his own way and he did not want his party to leave a sour taste on his mouth afterward.

"Bro, come on you are too slow. There are many girls around and, if you are not interested in that right now, this whole hotel was rented by me. There is a casino downstairs, several pools, and all sorts of stuff for you to enjoy! So let's drink and make merry, this is a night to remember!" In the end, Riser shouted and everyone else shouted as well, including Soma who quite enjoyed these prospects.

Smiling broadly Soma stepped forward.

This was going to be a good night.

///---///

Next Morning

"Uh, my head hurts. Note to self, accelerate the body modifications and start working on brain changes sooner. Being cautious is good, but it is not worth the extra hangover." Soma muttered when he woke up in a bed of the hotel.

He remembers enjoying the party, he was drinking and dancing with some of the girls around. He also remembers going to the casino, winning a lot, and losing just as much, but not giving a fuck since he was using the credit card of Riser anyway.

Then it all became a blur as he kept drinking more and more after... what was it again?

///---///

Flashback

"Come on, that is BS." A cousin of house Agares said between hiccups. "There is no way anyone that isn't a dragon can actually drink a whole barrel of Spiritus Vodka. It is impossible."

"Challenge accepted." Soma said as he walked with an already slightly drunk step.

///---///

"... Oh, right. Good times." Soma said with a chuckle as he started looking around.

He was in what must be the lobby, sleeping on the ground despite most things being broken and in tatters by now.

It was almost like a war zone and Soma felt that something could be wrong so he tried to get up only to feel arms holding him down.

"No, stay a bit more. I want to snuggle some more." A cute voice said beside him.

Turning to look over Soma saw a cute red-haired girl with rather short hair and small horns on her head. At her back were two wings and she looked up at him with rather enchanting golden eyes with a cute beauty mark beneath one of her eyes in the form of Yin and Yang. She also had breasts at least in the G or H cup range, which was nice.

"..." Soma looked at this succubus hugging him and thought, what would the teachers that taught him how to deal with parties and celebrations do in this sort of situation?

After thinking for a bit he laid down again and let his hands explore the bountiful succubus (because what else would she be) as he let his carnal desires guide him. He did remember his teachers, like Cu Chulain and Fergus, instructions on how to deal with this sort of situation, and he wanted to make them proud.

... They were not the best of examples.

Besides, he was a magus. Being able to do mana transfers via sex was nothing so unique and it would certainly be interesting to see if it was possible with such a race like a succubus.

Also, she was hot.

///---///

AN:

I am thinking of doing a second fic. I have a few options and want to hear you guys' opinion regarding which one would be better:

- A Soul Land fic, bash Tang San and some others, fight against Abyssal Plane that is invading earlier and must unify the mainland to face them;

- A Soul Land fic, MC is the twin brother of Tang San but is not a total bitch like Tang San and doesn't take crap from his father and makes his own path, not have either parents spirits but some other powerful spirit (up to suggestions);

- A rewrite of Barbatus King;

- A One Piece fic where the MC is the youngest son of Kuzuki Oden, have either the Space Space fruit or the Tori Tori no Mi fruit model Golden Peng (a beast known for eating dragons);

- A My Hero Academia fic, the MC is gonna be the youngest Pro Hero to ever enter the Top 10 heroes in the world (each country has it's own Top 10), but due to going to Japan because of his parents, he is forced to enter UA as he can't be a hero in Japan due to his age. Power being Fire creation and manipulation and he can do a lot of the tricks of Fire Force.

Up to you guys to decide really.

Oh, and I wonder if anyone can guess who exactly Soma just slept with.