43 Chapter 43

The next morning I was sitting in front of Sona who was looking at me with an amused smile as she tapped her fingers on her table. "Hmm... Jake, I do support you in gaining your own power structure as my Contracted Magician as we can help one another greatly in different things." Sona began and I nodded in understanding as I added on.

"But me forming my own clique within your school and precursor of your future dream in a Rating Game school is awkward, to say the least." I finished.

At this point I already basically had almost half a peerage's worth of followers in Mami, Mash, and the Quintuplets. We couldn't just keep hiding out here in Sona's apartment wing for the Student Council.

It was time for me to spread my wings and get my own feet under myself.

Sona then laid out a couple of pamphlets on the desk between us. "In fact, I have gone ahead and acquired the details of properties lying directly on intersecting Leylines so that you may ward them at your own leisure. But you would be responsible for the purchasing of the property with the money you have been pulling in with your bounty hunts." She explained and I couldn't help a chuckle as I realized all to well what she was working towards.

Sona needed strong support besides her sister for her goals in persuading the old fossils in the Devil Government to give better treatment to reincarnated devils. So she was pushing me to take on more bounties to get my name out there for her to be able to say. 'Yeah you know Jake Barris, that bounty hunter who collects all those bounties. He is my contracted magician and we support one another.'

"Alright... I choose this one then." I said simply as I pointed out the property lot that was actually an undeveloped mountain not far between here in Kuoh and Kyoto which was the major supernatural hub of Japan.

Sona hummed at the property I chose and I realized that I now needed to pick up warding magic which was going to be a bit of a pain. But regardless I clapped my hands and said confidently. "In either case, I will be moving out in at most a week, I am going to be working on my magic and making sure the vampires I picked up are bound to me and have their heads on straight. Then I plan to go to another world to pick up some more power before coming back." I explained giving my general game plan to Sona who blinked.

"I wasn't kicking you out, Jake." She said with a wry smile as she pushed up her glasses but I shook my head and responded easily.

"Either way, it's for the best that I get my own place... As I doubt the quintuplets are going to be the last lost ducklings I bring home." I ended with my voice ending up with some amusement as many fantasy worlds had waifus or otherwise broken birds that would latch on to people who showed them even the smallest of kindness.

'Actually... Could I deliberately go to an Alternate Universe of a world? Like go to Naruto and pick up a Fem-Sasuke?' I thought with some humor before drowning the thought in mental bleach. Hunting down weird alternate universes was going to lead me down the rabbit hole that was filled with things like 'evil, greater good, Dumbledoor's.' 

"Anyway, do you have a construction service you would recommend for a house there?" I asked and she nodded. She then pulled open a desk drawer and handed me a card while telling me they were magicians who specialized in minor time magic who could slow down time in an area and would get the building regardless of size and materials done within a day... If I was willing to pay a great price.

After a bit more small talk in which she guided me on how the magician group worked and some simpler projects I could order. Sona coughed and then spoke more seriously. "Jake as my Contracted Magician, I as your Contracted Devil need to make a request." I raised an eyebrow and nodded for her to go on.

"In devil society, a contracted magician is a very old and still respected position for Magicians of power and ingenuity with their powers... In any case, I need you to act with my peerage as my contracted magician in a Rating Game against a damned fool named Gragg Forneus." She said with utter disdain in her voice making my eye twitch as a thought rose up in my mind.

'Dear gods. I am not even attached to Rias's peerage and I got to deal with a Riser... Dammit!' 

I sighed and bluntly asked. "Is he some kind of fiancee or something you are trying to escape from?" 

Sona's face went utterly green and her head bobbed like she was actually swallowing vomit at the beyond awful thought and then once she got the bile down she spat. "Don't... No Jake, Serafall would kill the retch should he have bugged me like that. No his family with the clan trait of controlling sea monsters his elders have been interfering with Sitri clan control over some coastal cities on Earth." 

She took a breath and then continued. "Rather than getting the Satans involved and causing major issues with Serafall and the others obviously being biased, and my parent's peerages being mostly filled with healers. They decided to have the younger generation solve the dispute with a rating game as my Peerage is basically full along with him being the same."

'Why do I feel a hint of disappointment that there wasn't a lot more drama to this?' I thought with some humor. But almost as though sensing my thoughts Sona continued. "Beyond that. Actually, I want you to consider this, my friend Rias Gremory whom you have met a few times is now looking for her own Contracted Magician... I have put forth your name as an option as you possibly gaining the Bael's Power of Destruction with the contract will be an amazing boon, to say the least." Sona said seriously and I heard a record scratch in my head.