DxD: THE LEGENDARY TRAVELER WITH SYSTEM

[Vampirism]: By sucking the target's blood, the user can temporarily gain their abilities.

'It's not that useful for me now that I have [Shadow Predator], but it might be a good option to create multiple copies and distribute them, especially to the wolves and Rurushi.

Besides, thanks to the [Degenerate] ability, he managed to partially transform part of his body through his mimicry.

After using [Shadow Predator] on a Carapace Lizard, Zaydas acquired the Carapace Lizard's mimicry, allowing him to create a layer of scales similar to those of a dragon on his arm.

Initially, the scales were dark blue, but he changed them to crimson red according to his preference.

From the wrist to the elbow, the armor featured six layers of sharp scales, divided into three rows at the front. On the back of the hand, there were two smaller rows, while the fingers were segmented into three parts, ending in claws as sharp as a dragon's.

'I already had this lizard's ability, but with this, the skill's effectiveness improved tremendously. However, it's still the defense of a Rank B- monster…'

In the future, using [Degenerate], he intends to fuse another Mimicry species with defensive properties and transform it into something more useful.

In fact, when he has time, he plans to explore [Degenerate] to its fullest potential, creating new abilities by merging two into one. But for that, he first needs to make fusions that are actually worthwhile. He wouldn't just make random fusions.

"Let's head back." Zaydas turned to Rurushi and Tia: "We've been out for a few hours, and I'm starting to feel hungry."

"Same here," Rurushi said, and Tia nodded.

The two held his hands after he canceled the transformation, and soon they appeared on his mansion's grounds.

...

After lunch, Zaydas announced, "Asia and I will be out for at most two hours."

"Can we come along?" Ria asked.

"For now, no," Zaydas refused.

He intended to return to his own dimension. It should be 6 AM there. And without making the necessary preparations, he saw no reason to bring anyone other than Asia this time—after all, he only planned to stay until that same day's nightfall.

"I see..."

Though disappointed, Ria didn't insist.

Making a few magic circles appear in front of each of them, soon a bottle of golden wine materialized for each one.

"Don't be like that, we'll be back soon. And this is my way of apologizing for not being able to take you with me this time," Zaydas said with a refreshing smile.

At that moment, to them, he looked like a saint!

Under their admiring gazes, Zaydas held Asia's hand and used [Dimensional Jump].

...

When They Returned, Asia's Mood Magically Improved.

"Ahh, it feels like it's been such a long time since we last came back..." Asia murmured with a nostalgic smile.

'If she's like this after just a few days away, how will she react when we're gone for months?'

Shaking his head, he smiled and patted her head. "Go take a bath and get ready."

"Yes~" She stood on her tiptoes and, boldly, gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Immediately after, she ran out of the room, her face blushing all the way to her ears.

"This girl..." He said that, but soon let out a small laugh.

...

Later, downstairs, Zaydas met up with Asia, now dressed in her school uniform.

"How do I look, Zaydas-san?" she asked with a hint of shyness.

Smiling, Zaydas said, "You look beautiful. It suits you very well, Asia."

"I'm so happy!" She didn't even need to say it—her expressive face overflowed with joy.

With a noble accent, Ravel arrived. "Good morning, Asia-san, Zaydas-sama~"

"Good morning, Ravel," Zaydas said. "I like your new hairstyle."

Hearing that, Ravel paused, touched her head, and suddenly panicked.

"...I forgot to fix it!" Right after, she ran up the stairs.

"Err..." Asia, who lost the chance to greet Ravel, felt a bit awkward.

"It's fine, she'll be back down soon." Zaydas patted her head, and Asia closed her eyes, seemingly enjoying his touch.

Seeing her act so adorably, Zaydas's hand slid to her face, and he slowly leaned toward her rosy lips.

"Ahem. Zaydas-sama?"

Hearing the voice behind him, Zaydas stopped what he was about to do, while Asia opened her eyes, her cheeks turning red like crimson clouds.

Turning around, Zaydas smiled. "Good morning, Grayfia-nee."

"I don't mean to interfere, but Zaydas-sama, do you think it's appropriate to continue what you were about to do?" she asked, standing in a perfect and composed posture.

Her expression was neither stern nor gentle.

Still smiling, Zaydas said, "Grayfia-nee, do you really mean what you just said?"

"What do you mean?" Her expression changed slightly as she raised an eyebrow.

"If you don't understand, that's fine." Zaydas shrugged.

With a piercing gaze, Grayfia stared at him for a moment before sighing.

At the same time, Shizue and Ravel were coming down the stairs.

...

Unlike when it was just him and Ravel, now there were four people heading to school. Because of that, Grayfia kindly drove them in a red BMW.

"Asia-san, are you happy to be going to school?" Ravel asked with a smile.

"A little nervous, but also a little excited," Asia replied sweetly.

From the front passenger seat, Zaydas asked, "And you, Shizue?"

"I don't know yet... I mean, at my age, going to school..."

Zaydas chuckled. "You're overthinking it, Shizue. In the end, you never had a normal life and never got to do normal things. Now that you have the chance, why not enjoy it?"

"Er... Yes, you're right." She smiled a little.

"By the way, I haven't asked yet." Ravel looked at Shizue. "Which grade were you transferred to, Shizue-san?"

"Third year," she answered.

"Oh, then you might end up in the same class as Zaydas-sama. I'm jealous..." Ravel said, but then smiled. "Let's make the most of our school life in the human world, okay?"

Although the way she said it sounded a little strange to Shizue, she smiled. "Yes, let's."

...

When Zaydas got out of the car with Shizue, Ravel, and Asia… they automatically became the center of attention, almost as if an idol had arrived at the school.

It was no surprise—each of them stood out, and Grayfia, who had opened the car door, was dressed as a maid, her beautiful platinum hair flowing as she maintained an air of pure elegance.

"I already figured Zaydas-sama was rich, but…"

"Damn, he even has a platinum-haired bishoujo maid? How can the world be this unfair?"

"And what the hell is this? Who are these gorgeous bishoujos?"

"Ahhh! Don't stop me! I'm jumping off a bridge right now!!"

"Urghh... Damn it... How can life be so unfair?"

"Issei, I understand you, I really do!"

"You understand me, Motohama?"

And then, the two of them hugged…

...

Later, after the teacher entered the classroom, he announced:

"Ahem. Today, we have a new transfer student. Please welcome her with a round of applause."

As the applause echoed, he continued:

"Shizue Gremory, you may enter."

The moment she crossed the doorway, everyone—both men and women—was stunned by her appearance.

"Wow!"

Several gasps of admiration spread throughout the room.

"What a beautiful girl~"

"Okay, silence!" the teacher intervened. "Shizue-san, please introduce yourself."

Taking a step forward, she spoke in a calm tone:

"Good morning, everyone. My name is Shizue Gremory, a distant cousin of Zaydas Gremory. Due to family matters, I am currently living under his family's care." She added with a small smile, "Thank you for having me."

The class responded with applause and welcoming words.

"Alright, silence." The teacher said, "Shizue-san, you may take the open seat in front of your cousin, Zaydas-san."

"Mm." Nodding, she gracefully walked toward her seat.

Giving a slight nod as she stopped in front of him, she then greeted Akeno and Rias.

───────────

It was lunchtime, and a piece of news that started circulating caught Zaydas by surprise. Issei, Motohama, and Matsuda—better known as the 'Perverted Trio'—were caught spying on the Girls from the Kendo Club.

When this was reported to the administration, all three of them received a two-week suspension as a warning, and their parents had to come pick them up, looking incredibly embarrassed by their sons' actions.

'Until now, they always managed to get away with it, so why?' Zaydas wanted to know the reason.

The most plausible explanation was that after losing Ddraig, Issei had also lost his "protagonist aura" or something like that. Because of this, he could no longer influence events in his favor—or in favor of his friends. Thus, instead of simply being beaten up in a comedic anime-like scene… They were properly punished, as they should have been.

This even led to students commenting on how strange it was that they had never been punished for something like this before.

Even bringing porn magazines to school was a reason for suspension, yet until now, they had always gone unpunished. This made many people surprised by what had happened.

"Humph! They deserved it," Koneko said coldly.

"Ara, Koneko-chan, so cold~" Akeno laughed.

"Oh? Do you think their behavior is acceptable?" Zaydas asked with interest as he looked at her.

"..." Akeno's smiling expression froze, and she swallowed the words she was about to say. It took her two seconds before she replied, "No, I don't."

Smiling, Zaydas said, "I know that sometimes it may not seem like something that should be punished. But I disagree. They were committing a criminal act."

"But they're just teenagers," Kiba said.

Looking at him, Zaydas smiled coldly. "Right now, they're teenagers and escape the law, but in a year, they'll be eighteen. If they keep acting this way, the punishment will be much harsher than a two-week suspension."

Kiba fell silent. In the end, he knew Zaydas was right.

"Yes, perverts like them deserve to be punished!" Koneko said sharply.

Sensing that the atmosphere was becoming tense, Rias spoke up: "Putting this irrelevant topic aside, Zay-kun, have you thought about my proposal?"

"You mean joining your club with my Peerage?" Zaydas asked.

"Yes, that," she said. "Wouldn't it be better to have a place where you can do things more freely? Not to mention, we could spend more time together~"

"Err… Okay, but not now," Zaydas said. "At the moment, I'm busy with other things. But maybe next week?"

"Great!" Rias smiled.

Zaydas looked at her and then turned to Asia: "By the way, Asia-chan, how has your first day at school been?"

"Although I have a lot to learn, everyone has been very kind to me~" she replied cheerfully.

"Mm, I'm glad to hear that." Zaydas then turned to Ravel: "And you, Ravel-chan, have you gotten used to school in the human world?"

"A little," she smiled. "But thanks to Koneko-san, things are going well."

"That's good." Zaydas looked at Shizue and laughed. "Well, I don't even need to ask you since we're in the same class."

"So jealous… I also wanted to be in the same class as Zaydas-san…" Asia murmured.

"I understand you perfectly, Asia-san!" Ravel exclaimed.

"You understand me, Ravel-san?" The two seemed to have suddenly become closer…

───────────

Zaydas did not return home with Ravel, Asia, and Shizue. In front of him stood a boy, nearly 18 years old. His name was Saji.

Saji was a young man with short blond hair and gray eyes. He wore ordinary clothes that looked cheap.

The two were currently in a private room of a restaurant.

"What you said… is it true?"

"Yes, I want to offer you 1 billion yen, but in exchange, I will take the Sacred Gear from your body," Zaydas said. "In fact, I could simply take it, and you—who weren't even aware of possessing such a thing—wouldn't even notice. By the way, I should warn you that this is something that will attract many dangerous people who won't be as kind as I am. Some will want to steal it, others will want to kill you just for possessing something dangerous."

"I… If I accept, what will happen to me?" Saji asked.

His situation wasn't good at the moment, and he urgently needed money.

Saji's parents had died in a car accident, leaving him and his two siblings under the care of their paternal grandfather. Recently, the grandfather had passed away due to an illness, leaving them alone and helpless once again. Struggling financially, Zaydas's offer was too tempting to refuse.

"If I take the Sacred Gear from you, nothing will change. And, if you wish, I can alter your memories. As for my reason for doing this, I believe you're smart enough to understand, right?" Zaydas replied.

Closing and opening his eyes, Saji answered, "I accept. I've seen enough to understand that if you wanted, you could simply steal whatever this Sacred Gear is and then kill me. I don't think you're trying to trick me, but just to be sure, can you give me proof?"

"Of course. Here." Zaydas handed a smartphone to Saji. "Log into your bank account. I've already transferred the entire amount to your account at XXX Bank."

With trembling hands, Saji logged into his account, and his eyes widened as he saw all the zeros.

"Okay, go ahead!" Saji exclaimed.

"Relax. Everything will be fine," Zaydas said. "This is something useful to me, so even though I don't need to, I will keep an eye on you and your family. If you're ever in trouble, I will help."

"Thank you!" Saji stood up and bowed deeply toward him.

Smiling, Zaydas asked, "So, do you wish to keep your memories of this deal and everything you've heard?"

"No." He denied it without thinking twice.

"Good choice. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss," Zaydas said.

Then, he shook Saji's hand while using the Card to steal Sacred Gears—the same type he had used on Issei.

[-1,000 AP!]

[-1,000 AP!]

[-1,000 AP!]

[-1,000 AP!]

[-1,000 AP!]

[Success!]

[You obtained the Sacred Gear: Absorption Line!]

[+50,000 AP]

Seeing this, Zaydas smiled. Then, as requested, he altered Saji's memory. Regarding the reason for obtaining 1 billion yen, he manipulated things to make it seem like it was something their grandfather had left them. He made it appear as if their grandfather had been secretly wealthy and had left his entire fortune in cash to his grandchildren.

That amount of money was enough for Saji and his siblings to live like royalty. Even when converted to dollars, they would still be millionaires.