Celestial X Grimoire (DXD Celestial Grimoire)

I looked at the two Kuoh Academy Students, who before today… I believed to be a pair of completely normal girls. But now? Now I knew differently.

And it was so obvious too, it was like they weren't even trying to hide. Who actually names their daughter 'Koneko', after all?

That was definitely some sort of fake name. I wouldn't even call a cat that… it was way too lazy. 'Kitten'? Really?

"Uh yeah, I… I think we should talk outside instead," I said with a slightly strained smile, before giving them a conspirical wink, "Tomoko's doing something that she'd probably be embarrassed by if she was caught… just give me a minute?"

Koneko tilted her head slightly as she tried to look past me, but I made sure that my body was blocking anything behind me.

"Oh yes, please take your time we can wait." Gremory-san said cheerfully, as I gave her a thankful nod before closing the door.

Then with that, I quickly ran over to where Tomoko was, and saw that she was still trying to stuff her summon into the closet… to no avail.

"Nii-chan! Help me out here!" She hissed, as she used her full strength to attempt to close the door, but it kept opening back up.

"Just- just take her upstairs, hide her in your room, alright? I'll deal with the Devils at the door." I whispered, causing her to give me a look of realization before nodding.

But then she paused and stared at me in shock, a look that her draconic nun shared.

"They're still here? I thought you got rid of them!" Tomoko asked, a panicked expression making its way to her face.

"It's- they weren't… look, I'll tell you about it later. Just, get upstairs alright? I don't want you in the crossfire in case this gets ugly." I told her sternly, causing my sister to gulp slightly, before giving me a hurried nod.

Then she quickly grabbed her dragon nun by the clawed hand, and practically dragged her upstairs.

"Come on Melusine-chan! We've gotta hide!" Tomoko whisper-shouted, as the two of them scurried upstairs to hide away, hopefully they would be safe up there.

If I wasn't so worried about the literal Devils at the door, I probably would have laughed at my sister's antics. Or questioned where the name 'Melusine' even came from.

But I wasn't in a laughing or questioning mood right now, so after making sure that she actually went upstairs, I went to go outside before stopping at the door, taking a few short moments to glance over to my bag that was resting in front of the wall.

I had the bento that I'd originally made for Koneko… maybe she would be less likely to attack me if she was distracted with it? Gluttony was a sin, right?

And Koneko was nothing if not gluttonous. Was that something with all Devils or was she just weird? On second thought, it didn't really matter to me all that much.

So I pulled one of the bento boxes out of my bag, and went to walk outside before stopping yet again, as I only just now noticed the Sundancer was… still sitting on my shoulder.

"You keep me safe, alright?" I whispered, causing her to give me a determined nod, a serious look on her cute face as she floated to my side.

I just couldn't help but pat her small head, causing the summon to blush a bright orange before she made her way back to the top of my head.

And with that, I finally opened the door to see that both of the Devils who I previously thought were normal students had perked up a bit as I walked outside, making sure to close the door behind me.

Gremory-san had a pleasant smile on her face, while Koneko on the other hand was laser-focused on the bento held within the grasp of my right hand.

"...Take it, I was going to give it to you at lunch anyway. But seeing as certain events have taken place today- I don't think I'll be going to school." I said with a small frown as I threw the bento over to the tiny Devil, who happily grabbed it mid-air and opened it up nearly instantaneously.

In the blink of an eye, she'd already grabbed the chopsticks and was eating the bento with a very minutely pleased expression on her face.

"So…" Gremory-san started as she looked at me, eyes roaming over my body- likely to assess my physical capabilities or something along those lines.

"I know that you have questions… please, feel free to ask them." I told the red-haired Devil with a forced smile on my face.

I had known her for the better part of two years now, and while the two of us weren't friends… not by any means, we were still friendly acquaintances, and it felt like a bit of a betrayal to discover that she was a Devil so out of the blue like this.

It brought up several questions, like how old was she? Devils seemingly had long lifespans… I could have been sharing a class with a hundred year old hag. And why did she go to a school of all things? Was she some sort of pervert? Preying on the youths of Kuoh?

"Well alright then, firstly… who taught you about magic? We met him earlier- do you know where he resides so we may speak to him? I haven't met a Lich before- didn't even know he was in our territory, but I'd like to get to know him," Gremory-san asked quickly, before following up with several more questions, "And speaking of magic, when did you learn about it? How long have you been practicing magic within Kuoh? This is our territory, you know? We're supposed to know about this sort of stuff. And to add to that question, how did you grow your magic so quickly? Do you have some sort of secret technique that you've been using?"

I took a moment to blink at the sudden barrage of questions, before I leaned against the front door and opened and closed my mouth a few times- trying to figure out a good way to answer them.

Idly, I noticed that Koneko had already finished devouring the bento and was giving me a peculiar look… I didn't know if she was looking at me suspiciously, or if she was 'subtly' asking me for more food.

And so I took a few moments to both collect my thoughts, and figure out a good… convincing enough lie to tell both of the Devils stood in front of me.

Gremory-san might have been putting up a pleasant facade, but I saw straight through it- anyone who wielded such destructive power with as much ease as she had wasn't one that I could so easily trust after all.

And while Koneko likely had a higher opinion of me simply due to the fact that I kept feeding her, that didn't mean that she wouldn't kill me if she needed to. At least, that's what I assumed. I was kind of just going off of a lot of assumptions here, but I didn't really have anything else to guide me here. Not like I could just call up Father Anderson when the Devils are already at the door, after all.

"Well, uh to answer your first question… I've been practicing my magic for a few days, I'm not all that good with it right now. But my Master- he saw potential in me… he told me that I could be great." I said with a smile, one that I hoped looked genuine enough, "And he's even let me make my crowning achievement here, Sundancer."

With that, my little summon floated off of the top of my head, and aggressively put up her hands, in preparation for some sort of fight. But after a few moments, seeing that there was currently no conflict, she went back to her spot on the top of my head, sitting upon it like it was some sort of glorious throne.

"Aww, she's adorable! Still though, only a few days? Interesting…" Gremory-san hummed in thought, giving me a similar smile.

"Yeah, it's only been what? Three days since I met him? He usually just shows up whenever he wants though, sometimes he startles me by knocking on my window… sometimes he just appears under my bed. Once he made his way into my room by digging through the floorboards- I don't even know how he did that, I'm on the second floor- but to put it simply the old Lich is… odd." I told her rather plainly, giving a shrug as I spoke.

"Master? Is that what he told you to call him?… He sounds somewhat eccentric, but I've heard worse." Gremory-san said after a moment, as I awkwardly scratched the back of my head, internally though I was grinning… from what I could tell, she was falling for it.

"Ah well, it's kind of embarrassing but I don't actually know how to pronounce his name… I just call him sensei or boss, or well master instead. You know?" I said with a slight laugh, causing her to just nod in agreement.

"Well that sounds somewhat annoying, could you tell me how you think it's pronounced?" She asked after a few seconds.

"Oh, no. No, I don't want to embarrass myself even more, and I don't want to annoy him by butchering the pronunciation… again." I told her, causing the Devil to frown slightly.

"That's unfortunate. Where did you say that you met him, again?" She asked me, despite me not having said anything about where I met my 'master'… ah this was a trick, wasn't it?

"The Internet." I said with a completely serious blank look on my face.

"…Could you elaborate on that?" Gremory-san asked, trying to lead me further into this line of questioning.

"No… but anyways, I see that Koneko's finished her bento. How about I grab the two of you something? You both must be famished." I said, diverting the course of the conversation in its tracks.

"Ah- I don't think that I'm all that hungry…" Gremory-san started, but a simple look from Koneko caused her to slump slightly before straightening up with a forced smile and a clap "I mean that sounds like a wonderful idea!"

"Alright then, just wait here for a moment." I said with a smile, as I opened the door behind me and grabbed two more bento boxes out of my bag.

Then I quickly walked back outside, shutting the door behind me yet again, as I wasn't just going to give the Devils an opportunity to enter the house.

With that, I passed the bentos to both of the supposed school girls, and before I could even blink, Koneko had opened hers and was already in the process of devouring it.

"Ah, thank you Ryuuji-kun." Gremory-san said with a pleasant smile, as she slowly opened her own bento, slowly picked up the chopsticks, and started to eat the food inside with surprising ease and precision for someone who definitely wasn't born in Japan.

I watched as her eyes widened slightly, and a smile made its way to her face as she began to stuff her face with rice and sushi. Then my eyes turned over to Koneko, and I saw that the little beast had already devoured the contents inside, and she was swaying from left to right with a content look on her face.

Good, as long as the beast that was Koneko's stomach was satiated, I might just have a chance of getting out of this alive. She must have been the one calling the shots after all, if how Gremory-san followed her silent order was any indication.

"Using such familiarity with me, Gremory-san? Why I'd say that you're trying to get something out of me…" I said after a moment, causing her to glance back over to me- her food forgotten for now.

"Oh? Is that what it looked like? I'm sorry, that's not how I intended to act, I seem to have forgotten my manners, Hyoudou-san." She said with a polite smile, one that appeared to have been straight out of high class society… but it was somewhat undercut by the rice still sticking to the side of her mouth.

"Apologies accepted, now… I do have a question. You asked me how I grew my magic in such a short amount of time. Does that mean you track the progress of all of the mages in town, or am I special because we happen to know each other?" I asked, causing her to give me a happy nod.

"Well yes, you've always had an unusually high amount of latent magic… but it seems that the more you've awakened it, it's just grown. I'm fairly sure that right now, in terms of sheer magical energy? You're around Mid-Class. And of course I'd pay attention to you, the other mages know how to actually hide what they're doing, sitting in the same classroom as you, I'd have to be blind and deaf to not notice the sheer magic you've been radiating… your master never taught you that, did he?" She asked after a few seconds, "We can help teach you how to control it, you know?"

"My magical energy is leaking?" I asked after a moment… before I took a breath and pulled on the sensation of my magic, feeling that it was leaking like a faucet, so I took a few more moments to forcefully push it down, "Thank you. I had no idea that I had to suppress it."

While I smiled at her, I couldn't help but snort slightly as Gremory-san gawked at me in shock, her eyes widened and mouth slightly agape in surprise.

Even Koneko was tilting her head, looking at me oddly. Perhaps this was a result of me becoming essentially a prodigy in magic?

"Well uh, anyways… I've only just recently learned that Devils and all of that sort of stuff even existed, my Master did tell me that this was Devil Territory, but it was only in passing. Trust me, I didn't know that there was any sort of protocol that I had to go through. Do I need to sign anything, or…?" I asked after a few seconds, as the two Devils continued to stare at me in shock and surprise.

"I- uh, I well… no, not really. We know that you're here now, and that's all that really matters. I don't really blame you for not knowing, some of this stuff is a bit confusing. But your Master really should have informed us." Gremory-san told me with a small smile.

"Um, I'll take that into account. So uh, do you need anything else?" I asked, causing Gremory-san to take a deep breath and give me the most pleasant smile that she could.

"Would you like to join my Peerage? I still have a Bishop Piece, and I feel like you could do wonderfully as a part of it!" She said cheerfully, as I stared at her… before she faltered a bit, "Or- or maybe if that's not for you? You could become one of my Contracted Magicians?"

As I looked at the two girls in front of me, I winced slightly as I heard the sound of two pages tearing.

But other than that, I didn't pay much attention to the small amount of annoyance that bubbled up within me.

"I won't join your Peerage, I'd rather not be a slave, thank you very much." I told her after a moment, causing her to pout a bit, "But… what is a Contracted Magician? If I become one, what would I have to do?"

I didn't know what a contracted magician was or did, after all. Maybe it could be a good thing, or it could be just as bad as joining a peerage… but I didn't want to decline her offer out of hand, that could potentially net me an enemy in Gremory-san after all.

And making enemies wherever I go wouldn't be very good for my future survival. For myself or for my family… so yeah, I had no reason to burn bridges, at least not right now.

"Ah? Yes, of course. A contracted magician, well it's in the name, they're a magician contracted to a Devil for any number of reasons, protection, information, knowledge, fortune, fame… magicians contract themselves to Devils for a price." Gremory-san told me happily, giving me what sounded like a decent enough pitch.

"Alright… alright, and what would a contracted magician be expected to do for the Devil they're contracted to?" I asked, causing her to hum in thought.

"Well, usually? It's for assistance in research, combat, that sort of stuff… though some Devils do make contracts for access to the unique magical research and formulas that their contracted magicians make. It's a deal between two parties, so we could hash it out at a later date, if you want to become one that is." She told me with a beautiful smile that made its way to her face.

"Okay, okay… hey let's backtrack a bit. What is this whole Peerage thing about anyway?" I asked after a moment, honestly curious as to how their whole… system worked, even if I wasn't going to join it, it'd be good to have some information on it.

"Yes, of course! See, a Peerage is made up of a set of chess pieces called the Evil Pieces! For a total of 15 pieces, there is one Queen, two Rooks of which Koneko here is one, two Bishops, two Knights, and eight Pawns." Gremory-san told me rather happily, "The Evil Pieces are capable of reincarnation people into Devils utilizing the respective Pieces, and depending on which one is used, they even get an extra boost… for instance, a Rook has greatly enhanced strength and durability compared to a normal Pawn, while a Knight has the same for speed and reaction time. Bishops get the same with their magical energy and power."

I looked over to Koneko, and saw that she was flexing her metaphorical muscles, a completely expressionless look on her face as she stared at me.

"Huh, okay then. That's kind of… interesting. But again, how is this not just slavery?" I asked after a few moments, as I stroked my chin.

"Well, that's rather simple. While initially, a Reincarnated Devil may be under the command of the King in their Peerage… they can eventually get promoted to a High-Class Devil and be able to make their own Peerage themselves!" She said excitedly, as I stared at her for a few seconds.

"Wait a second, that's a… that's a pyramid scheme. Like, that's the textbook definition of a pyramid scheme, what the fuck?" I asked with a slight laugh, "Wait- how long has this been around? How long have Devils been doing this?"

"Uh, since around the 15th Century?" She told me after a few seconds, causing me to audibly snort.

"…Holy shit, you guys invented pyramid schemes. That is amazing!" I let out a bark of laughter, as the Devil in front of me pouted.

"That's- that… shut up!" She said after a moment, giving me enough time to eventually settle down.

"Alright alright, now… let's get back on topic here. If I do become your Contracted Magician, would I be able to get lessons about the supernatural world? My Master is the sort of person to just… let a problem slap you in the face, he said something about it building character." I asked, causing her to give me a small grin.

"Oh, of course. I wouldn't want my contracted magician to get taken advantage of, after all." She said happily, as I nodded.

"Okay then, then I have one last question… what's the pay looking like for something like this?" I asked, and nearly laughed again as the Devil to give me a near-angelic smile. There was just something so off about her trying to look so damn innocent, when I knew damn well that she was a Devil.

"Well, again. We'd have to figure out all of that in negotiations… so what do you say, do you want to be my contracted magician?" Gremory-san asked me, as I hummed in thought.

I looked at the two Devils in front of me, and started to rhythmically drum my fingers along my leg, as I thought about the possible benefits of becoming a Contracted Magician.

Just from what she told me, it could be a fairly good thing. At the very least it'd mean that the Devils would have less reason to come after me.

And having an 'in' with the Devils who owned Kuoh wouldn't be a particularly bad thing, now would it?

But then again, I might be alienating those who dislike the Devils… like Anderson-san or other Factions which would be a lot harder to deal with.

Getting assistance in learning what the supernatural world is like would be rather helpful though, but was it worth metaphorically selling my soul?

"…It depends, what will you give me for becoming your Contracted Magician? What exactly do I get out of this specific deal?" I asked after a few moments, causing the Devil to grin back at me.

"Well, it really depends, Hyoudou-san. What is it that you want?… Tell me, what does your heart desire?" Gremory-san asked with a sultry smile as she swayed her hips side to side, it was a tantalizing sight… which was quickly undercut when Koneko chopped her on the head, causing the crimson-haired Devil to cry out in pain, "Agh! Koneko-chan!"

"No. Don't be weird, buchou." The shorter white-haired girl said rather plainly as she stood beside her King.

"Ah, fine. Just, uh… tell me what you want, and if I can give it to you? I will." Gremory-san said with a sight pout as she glared at her Rook.

"…Hmm…" I hummed to myself in thought, as I tried to figure out just what I actually wanted for this sort of deal.

Then after a few moments, I had a decent idea of what I wanted- no, what I would need for this to work.

"Alright for my first wish-" I said with a small grin, before I was swiftly interrupted.

"I'm a Devil, not a genie. We might make deals, but granting 'wishes' is a bit…" Gremory-san said with a slightly awkward expression on her face.

"I know, I know, just felt right. Anyway, for my first wish, I don't want to be exclusively your contracted magician. I want to be able to explore my options in the future, is that alright?" I asked, causing her to nod in agreement.

"Yeah, that sounds perfectly fine. As long as you at least tell me beforehand and give me a chance to try and convince you to not do so?" She asked, and I nodded in turn.

"I'm alright with that. Now, for the second wish!" I said grandiosely, causing her to let out a small laugh as I stared her directly in the eye with a serious look on my face, "Tomoko is completely and utterly off limits. No trying to recruit her, no trying to convince her of anything- nothing at all. If you even so much as try? The deal's off."

"Hmm… alright, but I'm going to need something in return. From what we know, Tomoko-chan has a draconic Sacred Gear… what can you give me to stop me from attempting to recruit her?" She asked me, causing me to sigh a bit as I tried to think of what would make for a good offer.

"I'm capable of enchanting items with spells that I know. Currently what I can grant are… Thought Acceleration, Clairvoyance, Zap, and Divination." I said, causing her to hum in thought herself.

I made sure to intentionally leave out Summoning Specialist, as I thought that giving a Devil the ability to summon a theoretical army wouldn't be a good idea.

And I definitely wasn't going to tell her about the jelly that could heal nearly anything- that seems like it'd be problematic if it's revealed.

"How powerful are these spells?" She asked curiously.

"I'm glad you asked, Thought Acceleration accelerates the rate at which you think by quite a bit… it basically slows down time to a standstill from your perspective, but the longer it's up, the harsher the mental tax. Clairvoyance lets you see from incredibly far distances, while Divination lets you find specific things through stuff like crystal balls but it's a bit of a crapshoot… and Zap is a simple attack, it can be of any element you think of- but it's not all that powerful to start with." I told her, causing the Devil to hum in thought, "Oh and I also have this spell that lets you change your outfit on the fly to whatever you've previously stored into it. And there's nearly unlimited storage… only works for outfits, though."

"Deal! That sounds so convenient! I want… ten of those, and five each of the others, how does that sound?" She asked, a certain gleam appearing in her eyes.

"We've got a deal there." I told her with a smile, it would take me a while to get everything done, but a bit of time enchanting objects is worth it if my sister was safe.

"Yes! That's going to so come in handy for my Magical Girl Levia-tan cosplay- I mean…" Gremory-san squealed before stopping and looking at me in shock, an embarrassed blush on her face.

"And for my final wish, oh genie of the underworld… I want to know just why you seem so desperate to have me as your contracted magician?" I asked with a small grin, causing her to let out a small growl.

"…Okay, I'll be completely honest. I'm going for the soft sell approach, trying to make you like me more as my contracted magician so you're more likely to join my Peerage in the future." She told me rather plainly, before letting out a sigh.

"Well, not like that doesn't make sense… but just why? I don't think that I'm all that valuable to you, especially since we barely know each other." I said after a few moments.

"That's actually pretty simple, and I'll give you this one for free. See… I've been betrothed to a horrible man… and the only chance that I likely have if I can't convince my father to end the engagement, is to beat him in a Rating Game," She said before noticing that I had no idea what that was, "It's an um publically sanctioned fight between Peerages for the entertainment of the masses."

"Gladiator match, got it." I nodded, gesturing for her to continue.

"Yes, well. I've been betrothed to Riser since I was a little girl… and he's just- just the worst, he's a womanizing bastard that represents the very worst of Devil society. And no matter what I've done or said, my father won't break the engagement…" Gremory-san told me with a look of frustration on her face.

"Okay, okay. Where do I come in with this?" I asked, genuinely wanting to know what this had to do with me.

"…Well at first, it was because I was worried about your wellbeing, both yours and your sister's, but upon seeing that you were able to instantly and instinctually nullify your magical signature with a single thought, on your first try? Something that likely would have taken Beelzebub-sama at least an hour to do? Well, I just knew that I needed someone with your sheer potential." She told me with a small grin, "But well… I know that it'll take you a while to get around to even thinking about joining a Peerage, so I'm willing to wait."

I just looked at her, and gave her a slight shrug, "I'm not really intending to join a Peerage… and I don't think that any amount of waiting will help."

"That's fine, I can be pretty persuasive when I need to be." She told me with a teasing grin, before she dropped onto her knees and grasped my legs, looking into my eyes with a manic desperation, "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE- AGH!"

Thankfully, she was stopped courtesy of another chop to the head by Koneko, who started to drag her away.

"I am really sorry about her behavior. It's incredibly hard work keeping her out of trouble." Koneko said with a small bow, while still grasping her King by the scruff of her shirt.

"…Aren't you around her often?" I asked, causing her to let out a small sigh.

"…Yes. Yes, I am." She told me with a melancholic tone to her voice.

"Right, right. Come back tomorrow, and I'll make you some cookies or something- and maybe if you keep stopping her from doing… that, I'll make you some more?" I suggested, getting a resolute nod from the short Devil.

"She'll never come near you again." She told me with a serious expression on her face. And I'll be honest, I believed her on that front.

Then she walked away, and I let out a sigh of relief before making my way back into the house.

Koneko POV:

I managed to eventually drag Buchou back into the Occult Research Club, even as she whined about the unfairness of her treatment, and her cries of betrayal.

"Koneko-chan! How could you have betrayed me in such a manner!?" She asked dramatically, wailing against my legs… but the answer was obviously simple.

He promised me that he'd make me food, and Ryuuji's food? Well, it was the closest thing to heaven that I've seen in my life. And after having eaten such divinity- the promise of cookies made by his hand?

Well it was too much for me to say no to, so obviously I said yes. I'd be an idiot not to.

"Didn't betray you. I made sure that he'd still like me?" I told her with a tilt of my head, I mean it was pretty obvious, right? If I stayed near him, he'd eventually come to like me… and it'd be easier to convince him to give me more food- I mean join the peerage.

"I- of course! Koneko, you're a genius!" Rias said cheerfully as she quickly stood back up, causing her stupid big boobs to swing in the air with her movements, as she enveloped me in a crushing hug.

I tried not to growl, as she pressed those dumb boobies into my face, practically suffocating me with them as she blabbered on something about my 'cute mascot charm' and how I would 'wear him down until he joined up'.

Eventually, I was able to escape her evil clutches, not that Akeno was any help… the stupid cow kept laughing and saying that I was 'so cute'… at least Gaspi-chan and Kiba weren't here to see my humiliation.

They were both too busy with their stuff, Gaspi with his VTuber streams, and Kiba with his kendo practice… so there are at least small mercies in this world.

Sitting back on the couch, I opened up some of my snacks, and started to chew on them- but despite these being my favorites… they didn't really compare to Ryuuji's bentos.

It was strange, I don't know why… but just the thought of eating something that he cooked made me feel warm inside, I hadn't felt like that for- for a while.

And so I sat on the couch, watching as Rias and Akeno talked to each other about… recruiting Ryuuji, trying to seduce him with their lewd bodies.

Just hearing that made me instinctually crush the pocky in my hand, the entire box shattering in my grasp as I glared at the two older girls.

I don't know why, but I wanted to inflict such terrible violence upon both my King and her Queen, as I sat there staring at the two of them.

Then that feeling slowly but surely went away, and I went back to my snacking… but they just tasted like ash in my mouth compared to the food that he'd make.

Still had to figure out what that nice white sauce Tomoko-chan gave me was, though. I still couldn't get the slightly fishy taste out of my mouth… I practically dreamed of it.