Zaydas wao test his new power. For that reason, he decided to step out for a while.

  By the way, Zabuton, the giant spider, was living atop the rge tree. When he flew up, she was quite friendly, gesturing with her froo greet him.

  "o meet you, Zabuton," he said. "My name is Zaydas, and I'll be in your care."

  ["Leave it to me!"] He heard a feminine voice with a slightly spidery tohat seemed to e directly from his mind, simir to when the Great Sage spoke to him.

  'Telepathy?' Zaydas thought.

  After Zaydas left, Zabuto watg the dire he had gone.

  She didn't know what he had done, but whatever it was, the sinister feeling she had sensed when she first saw him had increased siderably—enough for her to feel that she now stood no ce against him.

  ***

  ***

  Approximately 10 kilometers away.

  Even though he had distanced himself quite a bit, it felt as though he hadn't gone far at all.

  'This forest is enormous.'

  Landing, he stood before a tree, and then aerialized in his hand.

  Holding it, Zaydas thought: 'Be it the weight or the feel, it seems ordinary, but if I exami a bit more closely, I sense a powerful cutting i.'

  To test it, he lightly swung the axe in the dire of a tree.

  "Crack!"

  "..."

  Seeing that this was enough to fell the tree, Zaydas looked at the axe again.

  'Something this useful e so little… This is a bit unbelievable…'

  Before, 10,000 AP might have seemed like an absurd expense, but seeing this now, he began to think it was a bargain.

  Not to mention, he could feel the presence of a spear... Among the ons he could materialize, this one seemed the most powerful.

  'Those gods wouldn't get angry for me replig this, would they?' Zaydas worried a little and decided to stop testing.

  If he caught the attention of the god whht Hiraku to this world, he didn't know what might happen.

  If before he had wao test whether he could pnt something using these tools, he now gave up on the idea.

  'I leave the testing for home.'

  ***

  ***

  Wheurned, it was almost dark.

  Hiraku hadn't left since he received Zaydas's gifts.

  Heading to his house, Zaydas used his powers for a temporary bath, then ged into gray pajamas and y down on the bed.

  Staring at the ceiling without any lining, he began to refle the various things he wao do , one of which was improving his trol over his powers.

  ***

  ***

  After staying for 10 days, winter arrived.

  Zabuton locked herself in her den in the great tree, and the wolves stayed in the houses Hiraku had built for them.

  "Before it gets colder, I'll leave," Zaydas said to Hiraku. "When winter ends, I'll return."

  "Alright, take care," Hiraku replied.

  After bidding farewell to him and the wolves, Zaydas left the vilge. At a siderable distance, he returo his own dimension.

  ***

  ***

  [April 8, Kuoh Town]

  Zaydas wore an ironic smile as he saw Ravel running as soon as she got off the bike—a se all too familiar...

  "I saw it again~"

  Turning around, Zaydas spoke to the beautiful girl with long bck hair who was smiling cheerfully: "Akeno-san, what exactly did you see?"

  With a teasing look, she seemed mysterious. "What could it have been?"

  "Don't tell me you saw... the photo, I mean," Zaydas seemed shocked.

  "Photo..." Akeno looked fused but responded without showing it: "Ara, could it be that? Or perhaps something else?"

  Now holding her school bag with both hands, nearly dragging it on the ground, she swung her ponytail like the pendulum of an old clock.

  "Wahh~" Behind Akeno, Rias appeared yawning.

  Seeing the two of them, especially Akeing closer to Zaydas, she approached them.

  "Zay-kun, you're ing to the club today, right?" she asked, oblivious to the versatioween Zaydas and Akeno.

  "Rias, you should hear this~" Akeno teased, throwing a suggestive g Zaydas.

  "What is it this time?" Rias asked her and then looked at Zaydas, waiting for his response.

  "Yes, I'm ing," Zaydas answered, and Rias seemed satisfied.

  "Rias!" Akeno raised her voice slightly. "Are you sure you don't want to know? It's about that photo."

  "hoto?" Rias seemed fused, but wheiced Akeno's disappointed look, something clicked. "Oh, that photo?"

  "Even you know about the photo, Rias-nee?" Zaydas cast a distant gaze at the sky and murmured, "It seems I o longer hide the fact that I have a photo of me and Akeno kissing... I just didn't imagine she'd shoy to Rias-'s over, it's all over...!"

  Rias stopped walking and looked acgly at Akeno.

  Although Akeno herself was surprised, she enjoyed seeing Rias's shocked expression and pyed along: "Ara ara, it's not that photo, Zaydas-sama~ Now that Rias caught us, what should we do? We're in trouble~"

  She seemed worried.

  "Really?" Zaydas looked at the two of them, seemingly ed as well, his mouth slightly agape.

  "Seriously... Sometimes, I don't even know whewo of you are being serious or lying..." Rias suddenly felt tired.

  "Ufufu, Rias, I always tell the truth," Akeno teased with a giggle. "Have I ever lied to you before?"

  "Let's see... Right after we met, there was the time you lied about ing my ice cream. But I ter found out it really was you. And there was also the time you said you were looking at a fashion magazine, but to my surprise—"

  "Stop! Stop!" Akeno covered Rias's mouth and, in a rare moment, she actually seemed embarrassed. "Rias, please, I'm begging you, let's not talk about that anymore, okay?"

  Seeing her nod, Akeno removed her hand from Rias's mouth.

  "Now you uand what it means to be afraid?" Rias crossed her arms smugly.

  As the saying goes: danger is often closer than we imagine...

  As good friends who are always together, they knew each other's dirty secrets, but this time, it was Rias who mao take advantage of Akeno's.

  No wonder best friends remain friends... After knowiain things about one another, not being friends was no longer an option...

  Rias was feeling great now. Beating Akeno was an incredible satisfa, especially after being provoked nearly every day.

  Zaydas, who saportunity, had slipped away some time ago, and only now did the two notice his absence.

  "That boy..." Rias sighed.

  ***

  ***

  Zaydas, who felt he had just dodged a bullet after hearing something iing about Akeno, hummed a tune as he ehe .

  "Zaydas, you seem quite happy today."

  "Ahh, Sona-san... You scared me!"

  Leaning against the door, Sona adjusted her gsses, casting a sidelong g him. She asked, "So, where are those two?"

  "Rias-nee and Akeno-san should be almost—"

  He hadn't even finished speaking whewo of them arrived.

  "Good m."

  "Ara, good m~"

  "Rias, we talk for a moment?" Sona asked.

  "Sona, you were here," Rias noticed her and responded, "Sure, let's go."

  As the two left, Akeno approached Zaydas, looking hurt, whily enhanced her natural allure.

  "Zaydas-sama, you're so cruel~" Her soft aive voice, lingering on each word, seemed capable of captivating anyone.

  "Akeno-san... No, Akeno. What are you saying? Didn't I do that for you?" Zaydas said with vi and selflessness.

  "For me?" For a moment, Akeno seemed lost in thought, her voice hesitant as her mind drifted back to that se.

  "Yes, for you." Zaydas affirmed, holding her hands firmly. His blue-green eyes gazed into hers with an iy that made his voice resoh fidend depth: "Look into my eyes, Akeno. Do you think I'm lying?"

  Their eyes met, and Ake as if the world around her disappeared. The abyss in Zaydas's irises seemed to call her, each sed pulling her deeper until she felt incapable of resisting or esg.

  ing back to her senses, Ake something strange and wao flee.

  "I... Sorry, I o go to the bathroom~~!"

  The way her voice dragged out was no longer as charming and sexy as it usually was. Although still attractive, it sounded more awkward.

  Wheudents in the saw this... The boys began furiously jotting something down in their notebooks, while the girls seemed lost as they gazed in Zaydas's dire.

  A few mier, Rias returned with Sona.

  Sensing the odd atmosphere in the and notig Akeno's absence, Rias asked, "Zay-kun, where's Akeno?"

  "She said she o rescue the pnts a a while ago," Zaydas replied with an intriguing smile.

  Sona, standing behind Rias, adjusted her gsses. No one knew what she was thinking, except herself.

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