Inside the church's reception room.
Roy and Michael sat across from each other.
Eyeing Michael, Roy kicked off the conversation. "What's the deal?"
"A gift for you."
Golden light flashed, and two fruits appeared in Michael's hand.
The left radiated vibrant life force; the right pulsed with mental energy.
"I heard, Roy, you're not into mundane stuff. Your passion's training and getting stronger," Michael said. "These are the Fruit of Life and Fruit of Wisdom, packed with benefits."
"Generous move," Roy said, glancing at the fruits. "Why give me these? Need a favor?"
"No commission. Just a return gift," Michael explained.
Though the Three Factions Summit hadn't started, Michael had already held private talks with Sazeks and Azazel.
After repeated discussions, the trio agreed to sign a peace treaty at the summit.
With top leaders aligned, the next step was swaying neutral mid-to-high-tier players.
How to sway them?
"Recently, the Fallen Angels shared Sacred Gear data, and the Demon Lords sent famed holy-demonic swords," Michael said. "In return, Heaven sent gifts to devils and Fallen Angels."
"These fruits are one of the gifts we settled on."
Got it. Friendship fee.
Roy nodded, grasping Michael's intent. "I'll accept your goodwill."
Taking the fruits, he added, "The summit? Don't sweat it."
"No matter what goes down, it won't derail your peace treaty."
"That's reassuring," Michael smiled.
By position, Roy was Rias's dependent, part of Sazeks's faction.
But the Akatsuki organization showed Roy had his own agenda.
Sazeks had noted Roy was the classic "takes soft, not hard" type.
Hence, Michael chose to meet Roy just before the summit to gauge him—his character, and his potential impact on the talks.
Mission accomplished.
Rising from the sofa, Michael spread his wings.
After brief farewells, he vanished in a golden flash.
Roy didn't leave immediately.
Pulling out the fruits, he popped them into his mouth.
[Foreign power detected. Convert to Red Entry?]
[Foreign power detected. Convert to Red Entry?]
Two prompts sounded. Roy converted both.
Two new Red Entries appeared.
[Fruit of Life (Red): Training speed +500, greatly enhances vitality and physical stats.]
[Fruit of Wisdom (Red): Training speed +500, greatly enhances mental strength and soul intensity.]
"Not bad."
The fruits boosted body and soul, directly upping combat power.
Plus, their training speed buffs were versatile for daily life and battle.
Equipping both, Roy planned to head home for training.
But then, his isolation barrier outside Kuoh was triggered.
A ding-dong followed.
Checking his phone, Roy saw Le Fay's messages.
[Le Fay: You there?]
[Le Fay: Got time magic and some other stuff.]
[Le Fay: Waiting at the usual spot.]
---
Kuoh outskirts, magic training space.
Le Fay tilted her head, puzzled, scanning the area.
Barren, desolate.
The ground was cracked and pitted, icy currents lingering in the air.
Compared to a week ago when she taught magic, it was unrecognizable.
Sensing with mana, she detected dense mana residues.
Two sources: one unfamiliar, one Roy's.
"Roy's working hard," Le Fay murmured.
She figured this was from Roy training magic with someone.
Already so strong, yet grinding in secret.
His dedication was inspiring.
Whoosh!
A cool breeze blew.
Le Fay's nose twitched, catching an odd scent.
"…Honeysuckle?"
She frowned.
The barrier, blasted by magic, was devoid of plants.
Where was the scent coming from?
Following the breeze, she spotted a corner.
There, a wooden house stood, magically crafted two hours ago, judging by its mana traces.
Curious, Le Fay flew over, peeking inside.
A twin-tailed figure lay bare on a bed.
"Eh?"
Le Fay's pupils shook, stunned.
As a Pendragon heiress, her elite education clued her in.
She realized the "honeysuckle" wasn't a flower, but…
"Shouldn't have looked," Le Fay mumbled, blushing, ready to flee.
But as she turned, a familiar figure appeared.
"Eek! Roy?!"
"No need to freak out. You called me," Roy said, opening the house's door. "Wanna come in? It's pretty spacious."
"N-No way!" Le Fay stammered. "Your girlfriend's sleeping. Let's talk elsewhere!"
Flustered, she flew into the air.
Seeing her escape, Roy shrugged, glancing inside. "Stop faking sleep."
"You jerk…"
Serafall opened her eyes, pouting. "Who's that? Another woman you're sneaking around with?"
"Don't act like a scorned wife. Le Fay and I just have a deal."
"A private, undisturbed space, a guy and girl meeting secretly—physical deal?"
"Lucky her brother didn't tail her, or you'd be fighting."
Roy rolled his eyes, waving goodbye before flying after Le Fay.
With both gone, Serafall's pout vanished, her eyes thoughtful.
Her reaction was an act.
She'd woken the moment Le Fay entered the barrier, noticing her.
"Le Fay Pendragon… Didn't she and her brother vanish after defecting from Golden Dawn? Why's she here?"
Staring after them, Serafall lay back down.
Whatever. Sleep first.
---
A kilometer away, Roy used Senjutsu and magic to craft another wooden house.
Le Fay followed him inside, sitting and pulling a book and a stack of documents from her storage space. "Roy, here's the time magic and time power research."
"Skim it. Ask if you're confused."
"Got it. Gimme a sec."
Roy took the book and documents, flipping to the first page.
The book detailed one spell: Inherent Time Control.
It set an inherent barrier, manipulating time to create a time differential inside versus outside.
Larger barriers or higher time ratios consumed more.
Typically, it required hundreds of elite mages linking nodes to cast.
But researchers developed solo uses, like setting the barrier internally to accelerate blood flow, hemoglobin burn, or muscle movement.
This strained the body but briefly boosted physical stats, enabling higher-tier combat.
"Simple principle."
Finishing the book, Roy tried it.
Inherent Time Control's biggest hurdle was mastering inherent barriers.
Inherent barriers, top-tier barrier magic, created a micro-world, resisted by the world itself.
Two requirements:
1. Mana to counter world rejection.
2. Mental strength to form the barrier.
With his entries, Roy had no issue.
Memorizing the method, he trained while consulting Le Fay.
As an all-element mage, she knew inherent barriers.
With her guidance, Roy grasped it in three hours, creating his first.
He set it internally, channeling time power to activate Inherent Time Control.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Time power flowed, accelerating his blood and organs.
His physical stats climbed, the world slowing like a decelerated video.
Scanning around, Roy focused inward.
Unlike most mages, his physique was robust.
With immortality as a backstop, 2x speed was effortless.
Pushing more time power, he ramped up organ speed.
3x, 5x, 10x, 20x…
At 50x, he felt strain.
Not testing his limit, he stayed at 50x, assessing changes.
50x internal acceleration didn't mean 50x stat boosts.
Still, his physique improved significantly.
A casual wave unleashed a gust, blowing off the roof.
Le Fay yelped, her witch hat swept away.
Roy flashed to the sky, grabbed it, and returned.
Her yelp was still sounding, her hand instinctively clutching her skirt.
Roy glanced. White.
"Phew~ Roy, don't go wild," Le Fay said, unaware her taste was exposed. "Your base stats are already insane."
"Don't push the multiplier too high until you're skilled."
"Too much power without control can spark disasters."
"Got it," Roy said, exiting Inherent Time Control, his aura dipping.
Senjutsu and immortality restored him in a breath.
"Your abilities are wild," Le Fay remarked.
Inherent Time Control usually taxed the body, sometimes permanently.
Roy pushing max multiplier with no fallout was anomalous.
But, being Roy, it made sense.
Mastering inherent barriers and Inherent Time Control in three hours wasn't normal either.
Marveling at his talent, Le Fay pulled a letter. "Roy, this is for you."
"Love letter?"
"Don't joke now," Le Fay shook her head. "It's intel on the Old Demon Faction planning to disrupt the summit."
"Old Demon Faction?" Roy opened it.
As expected, it detailed their forces, their alliance with a Soul Society figure, allies, and summit sabotage plans.
Reading it, Roy's expression turned odd. "Le Fay, where'd you get this?"
"Cao Cao told me."
"So… Cao Cao, Hero Faction leader, moonlights in the Old Demon Faction, and spills critical intel to you, a newbie?"
"Uh… sorta?"
Le Fay's eyes darted, voice weak.
Roy nodded, pocketing the letter without pressing. "Don't lie next time, or I'll spank you."
"Huh?"
"I'm serious."
"Ugh, fine," Le Fay drooped.
She sucked at lying.
If Arthur hadn't begged her, she'd never take this lousy job.
"Enough of that," Roy said, stowing the intel and eyeing her. "When's your day off end?"
"Didn't take one. Snuck out."
Le Fay recounted Cao Cao's focus on the Crimson Princess, leaving him too busy to notice.
"Crimson Princess?" Roy mused.
He'd studied global factions during training breaks.
The Crimson Princess, Stephani Familiarion, was a standout.
A Valvrave wielder with soul-bound weapons, born with Demon Lord-tier mana, a top human candidate.
In human society, she was just a princess.
In the supernatural underworld, she shone brighter than in the source material.
"Le Fay, think Cao Cao can recruit her?"
She shook her head. "Per my brother, her blade's a guardian sword, a protector."
"Her joining the Brigade? Less than 10% chance."
"Less than 10%? Interesting."
Cao Cao was sharp. If Arthur saw the low odds, so did he.
Why persist despite the odds?
Pondering, Roy considered options. "Might be worth a play."
---
If you want to read more than 20 chapters early feel free to visit pa tre on . com /Archus