Chapter 43 - 41

After the agreement was reached between Soma and his new 'bride', including lengthy discussions about the terms of the agreement and some 'tests of compatibility, the two had reached a suitable agreement. Both were free to date if they so desired, would not force their own thoughts or ideas on each other, would provide assistant when required as long as it did not endanger each other's lives or safety of either part or associated family or friends. They also agreed to have a complete division of propriety in case of a future divorce as to not let their personal be given to either in case of such an occasion.

There was also an agreement regarding offspring where one would be provided after Sona finishes the construction of her school and stabilize it, as well as how said kid would be educated and what rights said kid would have in terms of inheritance.

Honestly, even a lawyer would be impressed by how detailed the contract was laid out. It was truly a purely political and carnal relationship that was created, and both parties were more than satisfied with that since neither had the time or willingness to try and force the creation of an emotional connection between each other.

After that was dealt with, five uneventful days passed. It was a calm routine that spread throughout the city's supernatural community and, in said peace, one could find Soma going to school as normal.

He kinda missed school, if for no other reason than because it let him sleep more when compared to when he is at his workshop. Besides sleeping Soma spent his time in class talking with the few friends he had as he had finished the body modifications he needed.

It was a very peaceful three days even if that bully girl who had tormented Aya for a while had seemingly vanished during that time. Soma worried slightly, seeing as she had a Sacred Gear and might have been abducted by the Hero Faction, but he rather doubted it was like that since there was no movement in acquiring other Sacred Gear users that were not directly related to the other powers in town.

People like Danjuro Tobita and Manami Aiba, also known as Gentle Criminal and La Brava as they declared they would want to be named, were still out and about without anyone trying to capture, so Sarina was most likely not taken by anyone and had just left of her own free will.

Truthfully speaking, Soma didn't give a single shit about the girl. As long as she wasn't together with the Hero Faction or became his enemy he wouldn't care what happens to her. She was on his shit list anyway and he just didn't act on her because Aya said he shouldn't.

If he had to think about 'free' users, he would much rather think about the antics of Gentle and La Brava who, last he met, were practicing how to use their Sacred Gears and thinking on ways to show the world their skills when the 'right stage presented itself'. Soma could honestly say he liked them as they reminded him a bit of himself, even if a lot more clumsy and less professional.

Soma would like if, after he dies, he can meet them in the Throne, as dubious as such a thing would be to happen.

Regardless, everything was going rather well today as well.

Soma was eating his lunch with relish, in one hand the chopsticks and in the other, the Bento as both feet were in the table that already had five servings of bento empty in it. Beside him was only Kiyoharu this time around since Aya, now much healthier than before, was meeting some other girls from class together with Ravel. Kiyoharu, who was not exactly popular with either males or females in class since she was seen as a 'freak', decided to eat with Soma this time around.

She was used to eating alone, but she quite appreciated having someone to banter with as friends. Kiyoharu was eating in a rather normal way with even some elegance after she had Ravel teach her how to do it (since it looked cool), but she was also observing Soma with some feelings of surprise.

"Where does all that food goes to?" Kiyoharu asks in wonder as she saw how much Soma ate and yet he still was hungry.

Taking a sip of a two liters bottle of cola Soma says.

"With my body as it is, I need to eat a lot more than most others if I want to maintain my condition." He explains.

Soma's body by now was hardly 'human', only classified as human due to the lack of any DNA from another race in him. With this body Soma's power was great, but it still had some drawbacks like the food intake needs.

Thanks to his body producing a much larger amount of muscle fibers and his organs' efficiency Soma needed a corresponding energy source to compensate, thus how Soma needed to consume around thirteen times the normal calory intake of a single male. That was a lot, but Soma could manage by eating food with higher calorie values that were still nutritious.

Kiyoharu, seeing how much Soma could eat and looking at her own small bento, sighed.

"It is kind of unfair, if I overate even a little bit I get fat, but you can eat so much and still look great."

Soma just shrugs.

"It is just how my body is now. Besides, if you want to change your body you can always just ask, you know as well as I do that I can help you."

Kiyoharu smiles slightly at that.

"Yeah, I know and appreciate it. I want to change it, it is just that..."

"You are not sure when to do this change, right?" Soma says and Kiyoharu slightly nods her head. "That is fine as well. It is not like I am going anywhere and, when you are ready, you just need to ask. It IS a big step, after all. You should just do it when you are ready."

Hearing this Kiyoharu smiles.

"Soma-kun, I sometimes wonder who is it between us that can read minds."

Soma just smirks at that.

"I am just good at reading people, no magecraft there. You are quite easy to read."

"Oh, really."

"Yeah, it is super easy, barely an inconvenience." Soma said, liking to say that after having seen some videos on the internet. Speak what you will, humans knew how to make the best of comedy.

He wanted to talk some more, but as expected, reality wouldn't let him keep enjoying the moment.

Entering the classroom with an elegant walk, one of the two 'onee-samas' of the school went directly to Soma's table.

"Hello, I am sorry to interrupt but Buchou would like to have words with you. If possible, could you follow me to her?" Akeno said with a fake smile, not liking to talk politely with the man who had tried to shred doubt in her hatred.

However...

"Yeah, no." Soma said dismissively after hearing a message from Kiyoharu.

"... What?"

"I don't work for her nor do I have any business with her that would make me need to meet her. This is just her trying to approach me for some reason and, if so, then I don't see why I should be the one to move when she wants to meet. If she wants to talk to me she can come herself, she has legs not just for show I believe." Soma said, irritating Akeno.

With a frosty tone, she spoke.

"I will tell her this. Have a good day." She said and turned around to leave.

Soma, wanting to get the final word in, spoke.

"Careful at the door, you might get stuck with how big your ego is right now, even if I didn't see anything to be prideful about last time."

That, more than anything, irritated Akeno who did not like the reminder of how badly she lost during the fight at the engagement party.

Leaving while slamming the door, the people in the class could only stare at her leaving before turning their gazes to Soma.

"What are you all looking at?" Soma said with some slight irritation, but that was plenty enough to make them stop staring and go find something to do somewhere far away.

Kiyoharu, who was beside Soma, spoke at that time.

"... You sure that is for the better? You don't know what they will do to get what they want." Kiyoharu said and Soma shrugged before starting to eat again. Between bites he spoke.

"I know their skills after the previous fights, the only one I haven't seen take action is Rias herself, but according to Riser and Momo, she only ever uses Power of Destruction when in combat and doesn't seem to really know or try to use anything else. That power is dangerous for most, I will give it that, but it is by now completely useless against me. Maybe if she asked her brother for help she could trouble me, but I rather doubt the man is dumb enough to think that forcing me is actually gonna help considering what they want." Soma said, very confident in his mana generator's ability to turn any non-physical magic into nourishment for him.

Kiyoharu, feeling confident of Soma's skills, still spoke up.

"I know and agree with you. It is just... be careful okay. They are getting desperate and desperate people can do unpredictable things." Kiyoharu says before lowering her voice. "Do you want my help dealing with them? Give them some other reason to worry and concentrate on or just make them have an impulse to not get close to you no matter what."

Soma stared at Kiyoharu for a moment and spoke.

"You really are a scary lass, that is for sure."

"Thank you." Kiyoharu said with a sweet smile that could have fooled most anyone, making Soma chuckle at her antics.

"Anyway, that is not necessary. I want a little something from them anyway, if they are willing to trade favors I can work with it." Soma said before finally finishing gorging himself on the food.

///---///

It was after school, Soma was back at his home and wondering what sort of experiment he would be doing next. He was rather satisfied currently with his equipment and body, he was still a few steps away from completing his mystic eyes but that would take time regardless.

He had received the shroud used by two of the twelve apostles, Saint James 'the greater' and his brother, Saint James 'the lesser'. The shroud had a strong holy element to it and Soma managed to use its history and what knowledge he had of mystic code creation and more to turn the shroud into a powerful mystic code. It's function was centered in helping in bolstering Soma's fire capabilities as the said apostles were known for having a particularly 'fiery' temper.

Soma was satisfied with it and used said shrouds to make a full body suit not unlike the one used by Cu Chulain, only in the color red as it was a shroud bathed in the blood of said Saints. He did a body suit to go underneath other equipment for a simple reason, it would let him use fire to do something like the fire type mana burst that Karma was capable of.

If the church knew of this, or how Soma used the shroud they had no idea were of any true use, they would be gnashing their teeth in anger at having such a item taken away. That, or begging Soma for the intel about how to actually make use of this, and perhaps other items, they had stashed away as little more than pretty heirloons to collect dust.

Thinking for a bit Soma decided in what to do. Inside his workshop Soma sat crosslegged and started concentrating within, begining the process of materialization of his own soul.

The Third Magic, Heaven's Feel, is the ultimate culmination of soul magic as it allowed for one to fully materialize one's very soul into its own being. If someone were able to truly do it then they would be able to leave their physical body behind, becoming absolutely impossible to be killed, destroyed, or even injured in any meaningful way.

Not only that, by becoming a fully soul-based entity, the production of magic energy would be infinite, being impossible to measure how much energy one can have since they are always producing more.

In a way, it was turning from human into an existence of similar nature to that of Ophis, the Infinity Dragon, not that Soma knew it of course. If he knew that, in this world there are two beings who were born with something similar to True Magic, he would be furious. Sure, Ophis had no real clue about her own natural accomplishments or how her powers were a form of the Third Magic, but it was still extremely similar in nature.

It was much the same with Great Red who had natural access to the First Magic, the creation from nothing as he could create anything just by thinking about it.

Regardless, since he had already finished his preparations in case of combat Soma decided he should start it again, his research on Heaven's Feel.

As he sat there, trying to give his soul some degree of mass, he thought to himself.

'Damn it, this thing is still bloody tough.'

Soma already had an extremely deep and comprehensive understanding of the soul, but giving soul mass required not only that but also plenty of hard work as well as lots and lots of energy. He needed to saturate his very soul with energy until it slowly obtained mass, it was a tedious and lengthy process.

Taking a deep breath Soma continued his work, making his soul stronger by the minute as he continued to try and grant it proper mass. He also wondered when he would produce his Pure Eyes, a natural manifestation of the body that happens when one's soul passes a certain threshold. It was a natural phenomenon much like Touki, but unlike that form of energy, the Pure Eyes was something that Soma knew about even if he wasn't originally able to develop them during the Throne due to the limitations of that dimension.

Pure Eyes are a natural occurring psychic ability that allows one to see that which normally cannot be seen. They are similar to Mystic Eyes in that both are inheritable, even if they are not able to create actual phenomena and only observe things that normally cannot be seen, like emotions, spirits, the magic circuits inside someone's body, or even spatial pathways when one uses teleportation. Pure Eyes would also be able to unite easily enough with Mystic Eyes, even if it would need some work to do so, much like how hard it was for Shiki to turn the normal Pure Eyes into the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

What Soma had not realized at this moment was how, as his soul progressed in strength, his unlocked Touki was slowly increasing in potency as well.

Body and Soul are naturally connected, as during his original training in the Throne Soma had no access or understanding of Touki he did not understand the connection yet between Life Force and soul capacity. His understandings would need to be adapted, but it was not a bad thing as Soma began to step in a rather unique path which the destination was as of yet unclear.

KNOCK KNOCK

Knocking on the door to his workshop woke up Soma who looked a bit annoyed. Honestly speaking this work he was doing was one that would take a long time and there was no need to overly care about interruptions, but those were still annoying.

Getting to the door he opened it to see Mami standing there, an equally irritated expression on her face.

"Did something happen? I know I didn't put the 'not disturb' sign outside, but I hope you didn't come here just to stop me from my practice." Soma said and Mami nodded.

"I understand, it is just that miss Gremory and her Peerage are at the door and they are insistent into coming and talking with you." Mami said before adding. "Maybe you should find a guard dog?"

Soma scratched his chin at the thought.

"A dog would be nice, they are quite nice companions and their fur is quite nice to the touch, much like bears really. However, unlike bears, dogs are more suited for guard duty." Soma said while wondering if he should buy a dog and modify it, or produce one using the homunculus tech he had to make it 'special'. Oh well, it was a thought for later.

"If you get a dog, could it be a big one?" Mami said with some excitement.

"You want a dog?" Soma asked and she nodded.

"Yeah, before I was taken my family always had dogs but they were all small in size, but I always wanted a big dog as I think it would be cute." Mami said, already picturing herself giving a big hug on the fuzzy ball.

"I will see what I can do." Soma said with a shrug. He wouldn't mind some pets around the house at any rate even if he doubted he would be getting a guard dog exactly.

Considering the security measures, any 'guard dog' would need to be absurdly powerful or have some sort of unique ability to have any sort of sense in having, so he wouldn't really need to care much about it.

Walking through the house Soma took his time, knowing to let his guests sweating a bit to make them more uncomfortable and this more easy to manipulate.

Turning to Mami he asks.

"I forgot to ask, but how is your work coming along? Can you do it?"

"I am doing well enough as secretary, all things considered. I am not yet fully used to it but I got some tips from miss Ravel last time she came and am adapting to the job. It is certainly better than working for the Hero Faction, at any rate." Mami explained, glad to have gotten those tips which saved her many times by now.

This is the sort of job that one must understand things very well, and getting knowledge from a prodigy like Ravel was a true godsend.

"That is good, I am finishing some works and I will likely find you some assistants later on so bear with it for now." Soma said, already thinking on his homunculus projects and wondering how many would be good to help Mami in dealing with secretary duty.

He was already making some to help in farming unique herbs later on with the help of golems and was implanting knowledge regarding mystic code creation and other miscellaneous matters on other homunculi he was making as to assist him in the future.

Truly, if the three factions of Catholicism knew how much they had truly given him they would most certainly regret it, especially since his homunculus and cloning technology was well and truly beyond anything they had access to. He was creating dozens of high-class level magic users with the knowledge he so desired, that and on demand with them coming out of their pods fully functional and with long life spans and very resistant bodies.

Hells, he even have some homunculus with Albion's blood mixed in, it was just as an experiment really, to see how much stronger they would be in their final result and if they would have magic reserves of similar capabilities to someone like Arturia Pendragon or LeFay Pendragon.

Regardless, they finally arrived at the doorway and there Soma met his rather unwelcome guests. The Gremory Peerage, for what little it actually is, was all present.

Rias, with a fake smile on her face, was lead and center with Kiba with a scowl of anger in her left and Akeno with a emotionless facade on her right.

"Miss Gremory, I believe it is common courtesy to give someone a forewarning before coming to someone's house. Is what you want to discuss of an emergency timely matter?" Soma asked.

It was a rather eloquent way of saying 'Why the fuck did you come to my house out of nowhere?'

Rias, hearing his words, felt slightly disconcerted as she honestly had not seen the need to call and see if she could visit, but she powered through regardless.

"I have to admit it is not a time emergency matter, but it is still an important thing that the two of us need to discuss."

Soma looked at her for a bit before sighing.

"This time I will accept it, but next time you come without any warning I will not bother letting you inside. You can come in, but your knight there most certainly cannot and I wouldn't advise your Queen to enter either."

"... Are you trying to lure buchou into a trap, fiend?" Kiba said, fingers twitching as he had an demonic sword ready to be created and storm into this place to destroy the Excalibur Fragment inside and he just needed the opportunity or chance to be presented.

Soma looked at him as if he was an idiot and said.

"If I wanted her dead she would have been so well before now. Don't forget that, when there was that incident with the stray devils and attack from the Hero Faction I assisted with sniping the enemy. If I was able to do that I obviously could have killed her at any time there as well, I have no interest in claiming her life. My warning was simply due to the bounded field in this house being set to act depending on the actions and intent of those who enter.

"With just a glance I can see you have murderous, it is cute really, that you think you can do anything to me, but if you step inside the fields would activate and would most certainly annihilate your, body and soul, to beyond any form of saving. Really, me not letting you inside is a kindness. If you want to die, please be my guest, I won't even need to clean up the ashes."

At that Rias took a step back from the doorway, fearing it quite a bit now that she knew exactly how dangerous this place was.

Seeing this Soma smirked and said.

"Don't worry, as long as you are not planning on killing me, or try to injure me, there won't be any lethal attack coming your way. At most a weakening depending on your thoughts, that is why I said your Queen can think if she should enter or not, and your Knight should NOT enter. Now, come inside, I have cookies." Soma said and moved inside, soon followed by Rias and Akeno who felt extremely weak from the moment she got inside the doorway.

She may not be planning Soma's murder, but she did not have any kind thoughts about him and her enmity was noted and dealt with to ensure she could not possibly be any threat.

Sitting down and facing one another Rias saw that Soma had a plate of cookies right beside is chair, eating them slowly and sounding quite pleased by it. Looking at the center table and beside her there were no such niceties.

Looking at him he merely shrugged.

"I said there are cookies, not that they are for you." He said and she could feel how sarcastic and condescending he was.

It was a purely petty act that was made to make sure she could feel how they were most certainly not all that welcome. Honestly speaking Rias only got through the front door due to being engaged with Riser who was an actual friend of Soma, otherwise, she would have had to mark an appointment like anybody else if she wanted to come to have a chat.

"So, I am sure some of us have a busy schedule and have things to do, so let us cut to the chase. What exactly do you want to ask of me, Lady Gremory, and, how much can you actually give me for it?"

Seeing Soma's expression change for a serious one Rias breathed in and out before composing herself in the most regal way possible as to try and impress her importance and power.

Obviously, she failed to do so since Soma was much too used to stronger women who could actually intimidate him and had a much more regal and noble bearing. But, it was a valiant effort that Soma noted instead of merely dismissing as him getting the impression she tried to imitate someone.

Progress.

"I want you to heal Issei from the damage you gave him during the fight."

"Fuck no."

///---///

AN:

Sorry for the chapters not being released as fast or consistently as normal. Tests from college plus work are not that great a combination after a sickness, who would have guessed it.

If the quality of the chapters is wavering, I apologize as well, but the main points are still happening more or less as planned. I have this next arc all planned out and it will be quite out of CANON, I hope you guys enjoy it and will come to understand why I am even bothering with Rias and her peerage this time around as they are needed to kick things off.

I plan things to pay out later, even if some don't really work quite as planned in some cases (the Yakuza for one, as I am not 100% sure if I should do anything about it).

Anyway, sorry for the rambling and, as a final comment, yes Soma and Sona are getting married even if only because of a contract of convenience for both sides. If you want to consider Sona in the 'harem' just because they are fucking and are to be married, that is with you, but there is no emotional connection between both sides. For me an 'harem' is emotionally connection as well as physical between multiple people, and between Soma and Sona there is no emotion there beyond lust so I wouldn't count her in the 'harem' personally.

But, what do I know? I am just the writer, after all, and cannot control the thoughts of the readers.

Anyway, thanks for reading and until next time.. Peace.