"...you can double yourselves?" Grayfia asked the real Sato, who stayed with her in the villa.
"...I can."
"How much is your limit?"
"Er... I don't know... but I should be able to do thousands of copies?"
"....." Grayfia was silent, but somehow, she felt her nose was a little warm.
"...here." Sato didn't try to imply something, but he gave Grayfia a tissue to wipe the red liquid that leaked from her nose.
"Thank you." Grayfia didn't refuse and wiped away her nosebleed calmly as if she had done nothing wrong.
"...do you mind if I leave?" Sato felt like he would be in danger if he stayed by Grayfia's side.
"No, stay by my side and prepare everything for them."
"...I am also training hard."
Did she think that he had unlimited stamina?
No way!
He was just an average Joe!
"That's true." Grayfia nodded as she looked at Sato. "Then, do you want a reward for your hard work?"
"..."
Sato wasn't sure what kind of reward Grayfia would give him, but—
"What do you want me to do?"
For the first time, Grayfia's calm smile broke into a beautiful giggle, which made him curse himself, wondering why he was such an easy guy.
Yet, as his real body stayed with Grayfia, his other copies stayed with Kiba, Koneko, Akeno, and Rias to train them.
Still, who was the first?
Naturally, the faster Kiba trained Sato, the faster it ended, so nothing strange would happen between them.
"You don't want our swords to clash?"
"Yup." Sato decided to ignore Kiba's strange implication and wanted to train Kiba in a different direction. Frankly, with just a week, it was impossible to hone Kiba's sword skill further, and as he had said before, Kiba's talent in the sword was limited despite being known as one of the strongest swordsmen in the future, based on the original story.
Instead, Kiba's strength had always come from his speed, and also—
"You want me to train with my Sacred Gear?"
"You don't want to?"
"No, I don't mind." Kiba shook his head since he would listen to whatever Sato wished him to.
"..." Sato.
Then again, unlike the other Rias' Peerage members, Kiba was the easiest to get along with, as he had no taboo except for his past, which was too brutal to say.
As the victim of the Holy Sword Project, Kiba probably carried the most hatred and burden in his life, which was why he loved to stay with Sato, as staying with him made him grow stronger, and being strong meant that he could achieve his revenge, so he could answer his friends.
At the same time, Kiba knew well that Sato wouldn't tell him to change his goal for revenge even if it cost his life.
Yup, Sato wouldn't stop Kiba for his revenge, since if he were in Kiba's place, he would do the same, and instead of making him stop, it was better to make Kiba stronger, so that way, when Kiba finished with his revenge, Kiba could return.
"Then again, Kiba, do you truly want to help Rias-sama?"
Frankly, Sato was fine whether Rias married Riser or not, since he didn't feel much toward her. Moreover, even if she did marry, it was just for the appearance, and if she wanted to stay with the one that she loved, could Riser truly stop her?
Instead, Sato felt like Riser would be miserable as Riser couldn't control Rias, and he could imagine that Riser would be cuckolded so many times, as Rias would definitely sleep with someone else that she truly loved instead of Riser, who was her official husband.
Still, the problem of Rias and Riser aside, Sato wanted to know Kiba's answer; after all, if the value of Rias in Kiba's heart wasn't so strong, then Kiba's motivation in training wouldn't become strong.
If Issei didn't love Rias, then would he try to become stronger?
"You sure ask a strange thing, Sato-kun." Kiba somehow giggled at Sato's words.
"Well, that's true."
While Sato knew that it was strange to say this, while Rias thought of them as a family, in the end, they were just slaves, so naturally, for her, they had to grow stronger, which was why Sato chose Sona more, as Sona was more like an employee instead of something ambiguous, such as a family.
Clear and direct.
That's what Sato liked about Sona.
Still, to answer Sato's question, Kiba said, "To be honest, while I want her to be happy and make her own choice, I don't have much thought about her engagement."
"...is it okay for you to say that to me?"
"It's because of you that I told you this, Sato-kun."
It was because they were friends that Kiba didn't want to lie.
"However, as being stronger means that I can achieve my goal, I will grow stronger, so please tell me what I have to do, Sato-kun."
Kiba bowed his head as he said, "Please let me grow stronger."
"Don't easily bow your head like that to someone."
"It's not easy. It's because it is you that I do this."
"...." Sato.
"How about we move on, then?"
"Okay." Kiba smiled at him, which made Sato speechless.
Still, as Sato tried to think of a way to describe Kiba, he decided to be honest. "Let's see, frankly, like me, your swordsmanship isn't so good."
"...."
"...you sure are honest."
"Isn't that the truth? If I don't use a trick, or you use your speed, we will be at best above average, but it is impossible for us to reach those who have reached the godly stage.
"For us, being one of the strongest swordsmen is possible, but the strongest? It is impossible, or do you just want to focus on being a swordman?"
"No." Kiba shook his head softly. "I don't have much of a fixation on the sword that much."
As long as he could grow stronger, it didn't matter, and as Sato had said before, the reason why he could stand on the top was because he had his speed, and it was also because of this—
"Do you think I should focus on my speed?"
"Yup." Sato nodded. "As long as you are fast enough, no one can stop you. Speed is power."
"But, I can't beat you, though."
"Because you aren't fast enough."
"Oh, you make me want to grow faster, Sato-kun."
"Defeat me first."
Kiba laughed, but his eyes showed a determination and a fighting spirit.
"Also, you should focus on the improvement of your Sacred Gear."
"My Sacred Gear?"
As Kiba showed his surprise, Sato said, "Like me, who can develop my Twice Critical to the limit, and even manipulate the concept of a double, you should also try to reach the concept of a sword."
"The concept of a sword..." Kiba was speechless.
"By then, whether it is the holy sword, the demonic sword, or whatever blade, will be no match for you."
Sato's words changed everything within Kiba.
Yes, whether it was a holy sword, a demonic sword, or many other swords, in the end, it was just a sword, a blade, a sharp weapon.
So, instead of focusing on further development, expanding the armament, it was better to focus on the basics, as in the end, if the blade was sharp enough, nothing could be cut down.
"Please start the training, Sato-kun."
"Then, let's start now."
As the two started their training, his other copy looked at the petite young woman in front of him in silence.
"Do you want to see my armpit?" Koneko asked curiously.
"....."
Yup, Sato wasn't good with this one.