The Angel Awakens

The instant we saw that message, we made our exit from the arena.

There wasn't anything more I needed to discuss with Lios anyway.

The money would transfer over on its own, so that didn't matter. Luna mattered more.

… Well, following up with Yumi, who had thought her moment to shine had finally come only to be left hanging, mattered just as much, but.

For just this moment, I'd let myself prioritize Luna.

The long-awaited moment of awakening had arrived at last.

… Now then, messages stayed on hold until I advanced them.

When Suzanne grew, the lock that had lasted over a minute was probably the time S-Class number 1 Satoru and the others had spent flustered over the sudden class change.

Class change… what would I do if it wasn't possible? Or if it was something like Cherub instead…

My heart was pounding.

If it locked, the odds were good. It had to mean someone was waiting to be promoted to Goddess.

… Hmm, hold on. If Suzanne became a Goddess, wouldn't we hit a complete deadlock?

Suzanne's promotion message couldn't advance because we were waiting on Luna's, and Luna couldn't be promoted because Suzanne's promotion message couldn't advance…

If that happened, where in the world would we go for support?

Even so, I didn't think Suzanne was going to become a Goddess… It was way too early for that, no matter how you sliced it.

"All right… I'm advancing the message."

It was a tense moment.

"… Mm."

Luna, too, watched with bated breath.

"It'll definitely be fine."

Suzanne, who had become a Seraph first, had a composed look on her face.

…Pi.

"Uoooooooh…!"

"Kyaaaaaah…!"

I couldn't help but roar, and Luna and I leapt into each other's arms.

"We did iiiiiiit!"

Waaaaaaah…!

Everyone burst into a great cheer all at once.

"Geez… I told you it'd be fine, didn't I?"

Suzanne wore her composed look… but I didn't miss the tiny bit of relief mixed in.

I wondered if there was any idiot out there who'd hit "no" by mistake. Probably someone, somewhere…

Of course, I made sure, properly and decisively, to hit yes.

Basaa… And then, spreading from Luna's back, angel wings… six of them.

An angel had two wings. An archangel had four… but I'd heard that even up to Cherub it stayed at four, the same as an archangel.

Six wings were the proof reserved for Seraphs alone, the same as Suzanne who held the title of Michaela and Cellas who held the title of Raphaela.

One skill had changed, and a +trait had been generated.

Divine Art Messiah…

"Strong…!"

I couldn't help but groan.

It was as if I'd been idly fantasizing, "If she could use a skill like this from the start it'd be the best," and then it had landed in my hands exactly like that.

What's more, with the trait First Skill, it could activate before the start of the turn.

This was way too convenient.

The synergy with Suzanne was incredible too.

Suzanne wanted to use Divine Art Michaela as late as possible. But if she didn't use it early, Angel Wing couldn't be used and damage couldn't be blocked.

By using Messiah, though, she could grant Angel Halo state, so even if Divine Art Michaela was delayed, it'd be easier to suppress incoming damage.

And of course, after the 100% UP, stats x4 became stats x8.

Rather than "amazing," the word "tremendous" suited this skill better.

"… Thank you, Suzanne. Thank you, Naoto-kun.

"I… did I get stronger?"

Luna asked with an angelic smile.

"That you did…"

"Yes, it's wonderful, Luna. From now on too… once again, I'll be counting on you."

Suzanne and I gently answered her…

And I pulled Luna into my arms.

"Thank you, Luna. My angel.

"As long as you're here with me… there's no enemy I can't beat."

I whispered to Luna.

"… I love you, Naoto-kun… if I can be of use to you, that's my happiness."

And then Luna and I exchanged a passionate kiss.

"Even so, Lucifera… a fifth new Seraph who hadn't existed until now."

Lyuka offered her assessment.

"… The Seraphs that have appeared up until now were just the four: Michaela, Raphaela, Gabriella, Uriela, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

Yuria answered. A new Seraph, huh… how cool. Magnificent.

"Two of those five Seraphs are already party members… and a third will be joining us soon…"

Once you got that far, it was only human nature to want to gather the remaining two and complete the set.

"Do you know about the other two Seraphs?"

"Uriela Aisha and Gabriella Aqua."

"… I have actually met them, just briefly."

So said Suzanne.

"Oh, what kind of person?"

I opened the page in the Garumon Yearbook. Both were listed among the 24 Strongest Garumon, so each came with a photo.

Uriela Aisha. Held by S-Class number 18, Melville.

A beautiful girl with brown skin and light brown hair tied short, dazzling smile, bright and lively… that was the impression she gave.

Her healthy beauty was practically bursting at the seams, the loli-face giant boobs combo right in my preferred range. Super cute.

Honestly, I wanted to sleep with her.

"Uriela Aisha is, at this point, the oldest of the Seraphs. I'm pretty sure she's in her sixties.

"Up until now there was 120-year-old Hilde, so this is a sudden swing toward the younger side."

This beautiful girl was in her sixties… I still wasn't used to Garumon ages.

Well, given that Pamela-san, whose breasts I always got to feast on, and Almaria-san, who lately came over to play from time to time, were both said to be 120, age didn't matter to me anyway.

"Unlike Hilde, who gave a bad impression, she was bright and kind, and she played with me a lot. She's a really good person.

"Strong and talented… As a fellow Seraph, I find her admirable.

"It's just, I wonder if she's not blessed in her Master."

"Hm, what do you mean? This S-Class number 18 Melville, is he a strange person?"

"No, he's not. The vibe is sort of cheery old man, and he's reasonably a person of character.

"… However, just because someone has character doesn't mean they're strong, you know.

"Of course, I'd never make a claim as presumptuous as calling an S-Class Master 'weak,' mind you…

"He's strong by ordinary standards. There was that talk before about S-Class lower-tier-equivalent Masters and S-Class borderline Masters who frequently swap with A-Class, well, you could say Melville is the strongest of the S-Class lower tier.

"… But even at over 170, a veteran like that settling for the position of 'strongest of the lower tier'… in my view, that doesn't make him a Master worthy of respect.

"I've heard he started aging around 140, which is fairly early. On that point too, you can't say he's full of vigor."

Suzanne's standards were strict.

If I made it to S-Class number 24 and then slacked off thinking, "this is enough"… Suzanne would probably leave my side.

Of course, I had no intention of slacking off like that. None whatsoever.

"She'd be even stronger under a stronger Master, I'd say."

That was Suzanne's evaluation of Uriela Aisha.

That said, if Melville was a proper person of character, I didn't really want to forcibly tear her away from him.

If he were an annoying jerk, though, I wouldn't show him any mercy…

… Oh, look at me. I was already looking down on S-Class Masters from above.

But that was fine, wasn't it?

Sorry, but if Luna and Suzanne lined up and went at it for real, I figured they could fight any S-Class lower-tier on more than even terms.

"Gabriella Aqua should be 15 or 16. A year younger than me, if I recall.

"Being daughters of Goddess Aqueria and Goddess Mercheada respectively, we had a strong sense of rivalry, and we didn't talk on very friendly terms.

"Just, that girl's debut was early. She debuted around age 10, and this is her fifth year I think.

"It's not as if the age your power awakens decides superiority or inferiority since it varies person to person, but…

"That girl, who's younger than me, debuted earlier than me, was recognized earlier than me, and gathered the world's renown…

"I can't deny I have feelings about her."

"I see, daughter of S-Class number 2 Aqueria, huh…"

Well, no matter what, having all five Seraphs together for sex with all five at once… I shouldn't expect a dream like that to come true.

But still, in terms of fighting strength and timing both, the chance to finally meet Aqueria and Mercheada, whom I'd looked up to before, was getting closer.

The thought made my heart leap.