A/N: Yo, Shonpufi Here!
After consulting with a friend, it has been decided that Welt will retain the core of [Truth/Reason]. This means that no changes will be made, and chapters will be updated as promised, on Fridays and Mondays.
==X==
-3rd POV-
"Alright, kids, are you ready!?" Ms. Fisher shouted with evident excitement.
"Yeah!" The kids screamed.
"Alright then, let's go!"
After a good night's sleep, everyone was now filled with energy and excitement, especially since they knew that Venice was a really good tourist place with many beautiful views.
But of course, this all wouldn't have been possible without the genius trio.
'What's wrong with them?' was everyone's shared thought about Welt and Otto when they saw their tired eyes with dark bags, and they wore a hunched-back look of exhaustion.
Because of last night's superpower activities, both Welt and Otto trained their powers until they realized that it was 5 a.m.
Meaning that they got about 3 hours of sleep.
They may be Herrscher's, but in the end, they are still growing young boys.
"What's wrong? you two look like zombies," Commented Himeko as she eyed them up and down with her golden eyes.
"I-It's nothing, we just stayed up too long," Otto made up an excuse, and Welt nodded to back up Otto's lie.
She felt skeptical about why, but she remembered that they had been reading a book yesterday, so they must have spent all night reading it.
"Anyways, let's go!" Otto said, trying to change the subject.
-Otto POV-
Venice truly is a beautiful place. The architect, the food, the crystal clear waters...in some places. I'm kind of glad that we won the competition now.
Some of my favorite places that we have visited so far are the St. Marka Square, Doge's Palace, and the Libreria Acqua Alta.
But we visited all those places a while ago. Right now, we are in a gondola and about to go under the Bridge of Sighs.
"Hey, Otto, look over here!" Nudged Welt.
Pointing a camera he had made with his [Truth], he began taking photos of me and Himeko.
We tried different poses: funny ones, the thinker, the French.
"Wait, Welt, where did you get the camera from?" Himeko suddenly asked.
Both Welt and I froze and began to sweat in nervousness. If we told her, I would more than likely have to turn her into a Herrscher; otherwise, she won't let me hear the end of it.
Or...I could lie and let future me deal with her.
Yeah, I'm definitely going to lie to her.
Good luck, future me~
"A nice lady over at the libreria Acqua Alta gave the camera to Welt; she appreciated our love for books."
Yeah, it was Candy Land for me and Welt when we visited the Libreria Acqua Alta. Though it was a pity that I could only read 27 books in 15 minutes, I would have liked to read more.
Now that I think about it, I don't think that someone should be capable of reading multiple thick books and memorizing them completely in minutes.
My brain power has increased since the last time I used it.
"..."
Meh, Welt read 21 in those 15 minutes, and Himeko read 12, so maybe we're just built differently.
Himeko stared at us intensely. I could feel her piercing gaze burn a hole through my skull. After a few seconds' standoff, she nodded.
Ha~ thank God she believed us.
I'm not ready to get punched to oblivion by her. And a Herrscher's physique will make her even more of a monster than she already is regarding strength.
After a few photoshoots of the three of us, the Gondola ride ended.
Getting off, we began heading to the next location.
Ms. Fisher and Ms. Scot, who were leading the group, said that we were heading to the civil area where there are other houses. But that's not why we're going there; the reason is for one of the farmer markets that is supposedly happening.
Following behind the group, we continued to walk through the beautiful streets of Venice. But because I, Welt, and Himeko were on the back, and because of my enhanced hearing, I could hear multiple people shouting and arguing from somewhere fairly far away.
"What?! I'm not taking care of her, she's a freak!"
"Well, I'm not doing it. Didn't you hear what she said? She sees some doll of ice following her around..."
"Yeah, let's take her to some exorcist and leave her in an orphanage. I don't care if she's a little girl, I don't want that thing in my house."
Are these fuckers serious...?
My hand clenched in fury; these guys were really calling a little girl a freak. Even going as far as leaving her in an orphanage.
I looked over to Welt, who had an equally furious expression. He himself knows the struggle of being an orphan, and to have multiple people say such things about you at once is utterly horrible.
"Let's go and check it out," I spoke, my tone deep with anger. Welt nodded and followed.
"Wait, where are you guys going?" Asked Himeko quietly as she tried not to attract any attention to us.
"We need to check something real quick. Come if you want," I replied curtly as I continued to walk. Welt also walked with me with a pissed expression equal to mine.
After walking through the alleyway, we saw a bunch of people in black suits and dresses arguing outside a building.
Looking at the sign on top of the building, it read 'Servizi Funebri Venezia', which meant "Venice Funeral Services". It's a good thing I learned Italian last week; it didn't take me long.
Going by that, it seems like they are here for a funeral service, maybe the girl's mom and dad died in an accident, since neither is mentioned when they argued about who is taking care of her?
"Let's go," I said as we approached.
As we got closer-
"!?" Suddenly, a massive amount of mana began to come out of the building, or someone with a shit ton of it.
My eyes lay upon a girl who looked around my age. She had a cute, small face and blonde, silky hair. She also wore a black dress. I can only guess that she is the girl they are talking about.
But besides her being the source of the huge amounts of mana, almost close to mine, what
had caught my eye was the giant doll made of ice that followed behind her.
The weird thing is, the damn doll looks familiar...
Oh shit, I know who she is now...!
Laviana Reni, the wielder of one of the thirteen original Longinus, [Absolute Demise]. I remember a bit about her lore from DxD. Apparently, her parents died in an accident, causing her to become parentless. And what's even more horrible is that none of her family members wanted to take care of her because she told them about her Sacred Gear
[Absolute Demise]. She must have awakened it due to trauma.
This caused them to think she was crazy, like who would believe a person who said that a doll made of ice stalks you around?
The doll is also the manifestation of her Sacred Gear, by the way.
Because all of them have no talent for magic or have no mana sense, they couldn't see the doll.
She was eventually picked up by a witch who was interested in studying her sacred gear.
"You see it?" I asked Welt.
"Yeah, I see it. What is it? A sacred gear, perhaps?" He asked back.
"Yeah, it is, and a special one at that."
"...don't tell me"
"Yup, we just found another Longinus wielder." I nodded my head, confirming his suspicions.
"... Is it that easy to get one, or is it too easy for us to find them?" He asked in an incredulous tone.
I don't blame him, though. It's not every day you see multiple god-killing Longinus users at the same time at the same place, since there are only 13 of them and billions of people that they could reincarnate into.
And I still haven't told him that Himeko has [Incinerate Anthem]. Hehe~ I'm looking forward to seeing his face.
But that's not what matters right now, what matters is-
"What are you smiling about?"
Oh? I'm smiling?
I've gotta stop that habit of smiling when I have evil thoughts.
"It's nothing, it's just that I've found my [Ice]" I told him
He looked at me in confusion, but soon realization dawned on his face.
"So she has the potential? Good, that gives even more reason to bring her back to Germany with us."
"What are you guys talking about? See what? And what do you mean by ice?" Asked Himeko, who had followed behind us and finally caught up.
Oh shit, I forgot she came with us.
With a sigh, I spoke, "She is my [Ice] and you will become my [Fire]," I said cryptically.
I didn't let her ask more questions as I had already begun to walk forward to the gloomy girl.
-Lavinia POV-
"What?! I'm not taking care of her, she's a freak!!!"
"Well, I'm not doing it. Didn't you hear what she said? She sees a doll of ice following her around."
"Yeah, let's take her to some exorcist and leave her in an orphanage. I don't care if she's a little girl, I don't want that thing in my house!!!"
Please stop talking...
I was living a normal life with my mom and dad until some years ago, one day it came.
A doll made out of ice appeared right before me without warning. I screamed in fear and told Mom and Dad about it, but they said that they couldn't see it.
My parents thought I was crazy, so they attempted many things, from Therapy, the Exorcist(fake one), and things that they found online.
But no matter what, it kept following me in silence.
Eventually, I got used to it to some point, but mom and dad suddenly died. From what I was told, they both had died in a car crash.
After that, my Aunt took me in until I got a new guardian, but things soon changed after I told her about the ice doll that I kept seeing.
I thought she would love to understand, or perhaps she would be able to see it.
But no...
She only looked at me like some freak; her daughter even found out about it and told everyone at school.
That day, everyone looked at me weirdly, and some girls even called me crazy.
But I endured, at least until today.
The day of Mom and Dad's memorial service.
And also the day that the adults of my family decided what to do with me.
But none of them want me.
Not my friends, and not even my own fami-
"Hello there, Nice doll by the way. Is it made out of ice~?" The sudden voice snapped me out of my mind.
A boy about the same age as me, who had long, honey blonde hair tied into a side braid, and had green eyes.
Wait!
"You can see it?!" I'm sure he said it! He said he can see it, I'm not crazy?!
My hands trembled in hope.
Hope that I wasn't what my own family called me "Umu! Yes, I can see it. In fact, I can do something similar~" he said with a gentle smile.
She held his hand out, and something that could only be called a miracle happened right in front of me.
A gentle blue light glowed dimly in his hands, creating a light blue plush bunny.
"Cool, right? I'm able to create anything I want as long as human hands make it. And I also hold the same magic as you do."
"Magic?!" I asked in excitement.
"Yup, that ice doll behind you is your magic."
"How? it's done nothing but follow around, and nobody else has been able to see it but you so far?"
"Fufu~ so many questions, but I don't think I have a lot of time"
My heart shattered at his words. After all this whole time, I finally found someone who could see it, but now he has to leave.
I could feel tears well up in my eyes
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I said I was leaving, but I was also going to ask if you wanted to come with me."
"With you? Where?" (Lavinia)
"Back to Germany with me, I live in an orphanage, you see. And I'm sure these...people wouldn't mind since they are already making plans for it."
His words hurt like a knife, but he was right.
The people that I saw all the time turned their backs on me; there was no reason for me to stay.
"Can I really go with you?" I asked.
"Yup, you can, I'm going to talk with these bast- I mean kind adults." With a smile, he gave me the bunny in his hand and turned around.
"Huh? Who are you, kid?" asked my uncle. It seemed like he hadn't noticed him this whole time.
No.
None of them did.
"Nice to meetcha! my name is Otto Apocalypse. I'm from an orphanage back in Germany, and I was wondering if Lavinia could come with me."
My uncle raised his brow.
"Get out of here, brat! This is none of your business. Plus, I don't have the time to register her in your orphanage all over Germany." Otto frowned at this. I could see his eyes become sharp, making my uncle flinch.
"There's no need, Otto, let me talk with him."
Hm? A lady suddenly appeared out of nowhere along with two other kids.
"Ms. Scot? What are you doing here?!" he looked surprised that this lady had come here.
"Don't worry, Otto, I shall take care of the matter here." She then looked over to me, she slowly came close to me, and kneeled at my level.
"Hello there, sweetheart. My name is Azza Scot, the guardian of those three kids and director of an orphanage back at home," She introduced herself as she smiled. It was warm.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Lavinia Reni," I greeted back
"Fufu, nice to meet you too. Go with Otto for now, and I'll talk with these bast- *cough* kind adults." I didn't hesitate. The moment she said those words, I ran towards Otto.
"Hey, who are you!? You have no right to-" I don't know why, but a scary feeling came from her, sending chills down my spine, causing them all to quiet down.
Even Otto looked at her in surprise.
"Let's go!" He quickly grabbed my hand as we left.
-Otto POV-
Yeah, that was definitely mana, how could Ms. Scot use it!?
I mean, it's not entirely impossible, but I couldn't feel a single speck of it coming from her body until she released it.
Does that mean she knows about me and Welt?
What even is she? Who is she?
My mind wrangled with thoughts as I made up plausible answers for this
...Wait!
Her first name was Azza, right?
I already knew that, but now that I think about it, wasn't that the name of the fallen angels mentioned in the Enoch?
The ones that LITERALLY taught sorcery on earth, causing corruption.
...Holy shit, she's a crow!
I felt a sudden tug on my hand. "Is something wrong Lavi?"
"Lavi?" She asked in confusion.
"Mhm, Lavi is short for Lavinia, it's a cute name for you since we will be spending a lot of time with each other from now on," I said without shame.
That seemed to make her cheeks get rosy. "I-If that's the case, then can I call you Otty?" she asked shyly.
"Yes, you can. What was it that you were going to ask?"
"Oh, I was worried since you had a frown on your face," She asked, Worried
Geez, she's too cute, all hail cuteness!
I let go of her hand, and I grabbed her cheek.
"Don't worry, Lavi, I'm fine, I was just thinking about something important. For now, just smile and have fun, we're on a vacation after all." Laviana in the LN was always a cheerful girl, so seeing her all worried made me feel weird.
A bright smile soon replaced her worried look, "Yes, let's have fun!" The hand holding soon turned into an arm hug.
"..."(Welt)
"..."(Himeko)
I felt both their gazes. "So Welt, you felt it too?"
"Yes, it seems like Ms. Scot has magic energy to"
"Wait a bit, she has a magic power? And you can sense it... Wait a minute," She looked at me as she seemed to hit the mark on her guess, finally.
Shit, she figured it out!
*Sigh*
I guess I'll have to suffer from those flame-infused punches sooner than I thought.