"Hyoudou Issei-kun, are those people your parents?"
Rias's Otou-sama—an elegant man whose crimson hair and composed presence exuded nobility—asked me with a calm smile.
"Y-Yes. They're my parents." I replied, trying not to sound nervous.
"I see." He nodded once, his sharp eyes softening. "So these are the parents of the young man my daughter often speaks about."
Before I could say anything, Rias's father stepped forward and politely extended his hand toward my father. "Nice to meet you; I am Rias' father."
The moment his words reached my parents' ears, both of them froze. My cheerful father and my always-smiling mother suddenly wore stiff, pale expressions. Well, I couldn't blame them. Meeting the father of a Maou's sister—an actual Devil Lord, even if they didn't realize the extent of that—would make anyone freeze.
"T-T-T-thank you very much!" My father stammered, bowing slightly before grabbing his hand. "I am Hyoudou Gorou, Issei's father. We're being taken care of by Rias-san, uh, that is, your daughter—ah, no, I mean—"
Father. Please stop before I bury myself alive. I don't know why I am feeling embarrassed; it's just the parents of my girlfriend meeting each other.
... Isn't that something that happens before marriage or something...? Damn, just thinking about it is making my embarrassment increase.
My mother tried to recover the situation. "Ah, um, I'm Hyoudou Miki. It's an honor! I've wanted to meet you for a long time! You have a wonderful daughter! So polite and intelligent—"
I felt my face burning. I wanted to evaporate on the spot. Rias was blushing too, her hands fidgeting in front of her skirt. Meeting parents was awkward enough, but this level of formality made it worse.
Damn you, Issei. If you are feeling embarrassed, why are you dragging me into it too?
Rias's father only chuckled kindly. "No need to be so nervous. I should be thanking both of you. Your son has been supporting my daughter more than you can imagine."
"Th-thank you…" My father mumbled, looking like he didn't know if he should bow again or not.
Rias's father continued smoothly, "It's a bit crowded here. How about we move to a calmer place? We wouldn't want to embarrass our children any more than this, would we?"
He smiled knowingly, and both Rias and I averted our eyes at the same time. Yeah, he definitely knew how awkward this was for us.
Turning to Kiba, he said, "Kiba-kun, could you lead us to a quieter area?"
"Yes, of course." Kiba bowed gracefully, his usual perfect composure intact. "Please, this way."
Rias's father nodded, then turned to me one last time. "I'll borrow your parents for a little while, Hyoudou Issei-kun."
"Y-Yes, of course," I said.
My father gave me a thumbs up before leaving, whispering, "Don't worry, I'll make a good impression."
I had serious doubts about that.
Under Kiba's guidance, my parents followed Rias's father down the corridor, leaving me standing there beside Rias, Sirzechs, and Akeno.
Once the others were out of sight, Sirzechs looked toward his sister. His usual calm smile faltered for just a moment.
"Rias," he said softly, "I'd like to borrow you for a while. There's something I need to talk about." Then his crimson eyes shifted toward me. "Before that, though… Issei-kun."
"Huh? Yes, Sirzechs-sama?"
He folded his arms, still smiling, but his tone was curious. "Did something happen with Serafall earlier?"
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"She was… rather talkative today," he continued, tilting his head slightly. "Unusually so. And, strangely enough, she mentioned you several times."
Rias blinked in surprise. "She did?"
I scratched my cheek awkwardly, trying to find a safe answer. "Uh… nothing weird happened, I swear. She just, um… introduced herself. That's all. I didn't do anything."
Sirzechs let out a small hum, as if analyzing my words. Then he smiled again, the kind of gentle but mysterious smile that made me wonder if he knew more than he was letting on. "I see. Well, knowing Serafall, that might be enough reason by itself."
Rias sighed softly. "Onii-sama, please don't tease him. It was already awkward enough."
He chuckled. "My apologies. I'm only curious because Serafall doesn't usually act like that unless something truly interests her."
Well, I am quite handsome after all.
"Well then," Sirzechs said at last, brushing off the moment. "Rias, let's talk privately for a bit. Akeno-kun, would you mind joining us?"
"Of course," Akeno said with her usual elegant smile.
Rias looked at me apologetically. "Sorry, Ise. I'll be back soon."
"No problem," I replied quickly. "Take your time."
As they turned and walked away, the air seemed to quiet down again. Sirzechs's calm authority and Rias's crimson hair disappeared around the corner, leaving only Asia and me standing in the hallway.
She looked at me with her gentle smile. "Ise-san… Shall we return to class?"
"Yeah," I said, letting out a long sigh of relief. "Let's go before something else crazy happens."
"Fufu, that might be impossible," Asia giggled softly.
~~~
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