The winter break was over, and Kuoh Academy entered its third semester.
Excluding the third-year students who now had optional attendance due to university entrance decisions, everyone else returned as usual.
Today was the opening ceremony, so classes would finish at noon. And in the afternoon, the Occult Research Club (ORC) would begin its activities under the new system!
The first and second-year students gathered in the club room to decide on the policy under the new club president. Everyone received the tea that Ravel had prepared, and the discussion was supposed to start.
…It should have started, but silence hung in the club room.
The reason was that the new president, Asia, wasn't taking the lead.
Feeling puzzled, I called out to Asia.
"President? What are we going to do for the third semester?"
"..."
Oh dear… She probably doesn't realize she's the one being addressed.
"Asia-Pres. Hellooo."
I waved my hand and called out to Asia again.
Finally realizing, Asia jumped up in a panic.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't think you were talking about me…"
"Well, it's just starting. Rias was the president until recently."
Besides, the former president, Rias, and Asia are quite the opposites. Both are excellent, but Rias is the type to lead the charge, while Asia is the type to support others. The current Asia probably isn't quite sure how things should work yet.
Alice spoke up.
"Well, maybe it's better not to try so hard? Sometimes it just backfires. When I was younger—"
"Your experience is not relevant, so stop. It seems like it would be a bad influence on Asia."
"Mean! I was going to showcase my graceful art of slacking off!"
"Don't! And what are you trying to teach Asia!?"
"First, how to boss Issei around!"
"Hold on! Seriously, what are you trying to teach her!?"
Does this girl only ever think about slacking off?! How did she manage to be a Princess?!
"Huh, no? Then how about my graceful art of negotiation? The surefire way to gain an advantage."
"What is that? I really want to know."
At that moment, the thoughts of everyone in the club room seemed to be aligned.
Well, if we discussed that now, it would take too long and derail the conversation entirely, so we'll save it for another time.
After that, with the support of the new vice president, Kiba, the discussion moved forward. During the conversation, the previous president, Rias, and vice president, Akeno, were brought up. Even though they had retired from club activities, their presence wasn't strongly felt nearby.
"They said they would stop by when they feel like it. They're meeting with former President Sona and Senpai Shinra in the third-year classroom to chat."
Koneko-chan informed us.
Kiba continued.
"Former President Rias said she would leave the basics entirely up to us. She mentioned that coming by might interfere with the new structure, so she'll drop in once our policy is decided."
I see. In other words, until then, they'll be reminiscing with the third-years while keeping an eye on us.
Well, maybe that's for the best. If Rias was here, we might end up asking her about everything.
"I'm sure they'll offer advice if we absolutely need it, so let's do our best on our own."
"That's right. Miwa-san is correct."
Everyone nodded in agreement with Miwa's words.
Rias and the others won't disappear just because they graduate. After graduation, they'll attend the university division, which is incredibly close to the high school division. It's within walking distance. They can come whenever they want.
More importantly, they live at my house, so we can see them anytime. Even Kiba and Gaspard, who don't live with us, are Rias's Peerage, so we see them all the time.
The seniors are fine, but the next issue is the new students—
Asia looked toward the president's chair and spoke.
"It's not just the graduation of Rias-oneesama and the others, but new members will be joining from the first-year class… Time seems to fly by so fast. I transferred here around spring last year…"
I met Asia in late April last spring. It will be one year since then in just a few months.
"Hmm, I knew it, but a year really goes by fast."
"I know! It feels like time speeds up the older you get!"
"For me, a year feels as fast as an attack from Maurice-ossan's sword."
"Exactly. For me, it feels like a sniper shot from Leisha passing right in front of my face~"
"Issei-kun and Alice-san are still young… And your expressions are just too unique…"
Kiba interjected into the conversation between me and Alice.
Alright, got the first Kiba tsukkomi of the new semester.
"You were counting that?!"
"Don't read my mind?!"
Anyway, moving on, time flies by so fast!
Let's get back to the topic of new club members.
"Are we going to try to recruit new members?"
The Student Council, and the ORC too, is a gathering of Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels. What if a regular student joins? More fundamentally, are we even allowed to let them join?
Koneko-chan answered my question.
"We have candidates."
"Oh, we do? Who?"
"Le Fay-san and Bennia-san."
I replied with an I see. Come to think of it, there was talk of Le Fay transferring here. She's living with me as my exclusive mage, and there was a discussion about how it might be unhealthy for a girl her age to just stay home all the time. Her brother, Arthur, also recommended it.
That raises one question.
I threw that question at Miwa.
"What about Diarmuid? She's fifteen, the same age as Le Fay, right?"
Yes, you wouldn't imagine it from her appearance, but she's actually a fifteen-year-old girl! Even though she looks like a stunning, well-built older woman! And that way of speaking! No one would ever think she's a junior high third-year!
…Well, surprisingly, she still retains her innocence, or perhaps, a maiden's bashfulness. She cries if her chest is seen.
The other day, I went to the restroom and she was inside. I walked in on her sitting down with her pants pulled down. Although it was partly her fault for forgetting to lock the door… she burst into tears. Miwa scolded me later.
"Dil-san is considering it a little, too. I'm tutoring her, but her level seems fine. The rest depends on Dil-san's own decision."
Seriously? She can study, huh…
What would happen if she enrolled at Kuoh Academy…? First of all, her uniform… she'd look good in it, but she'd look like a model, not a student. And could she really fit into a class?!
"Do you want to see Dil-san in the uniform? I have a picture."
"You do? Let me see…"
I took the phone from Miwa and looked at the screen.
What was displayed was Diarmuid in the school uniform, but…
The members who saw it—Alice, Asia, and Koneko-chan—fell silent.
The new ORC members took a breather after a discussion that lasted several hours.
The policy was decided: 'Don't implement sudden reforms; be flexible and adapt to situations as they arise.'
In the end, it was essentially maintaining Rias's previous structure, but it couldn't be helped. The new president, Asia, still lacked confidence and could only listen to everyone's opinions.
It's only the first day, and things will surely improve from here.
However, I stopped Asia when she tried to ask Alice about managing people. You never know what she might teach.
Now, the ORC situation is settled, but I'm worried about another matter.
Xenovia and Irina are not here today. The reason is their election campaign.
Xenovia has already begun her activities and is consulting with Irina about the election in a separate room in the old school building. Irina is purely in a support role. Furthermore, their classmate, Kiryuu, is also supporting Xenovia. Kiryuu is also participating in the election strategy discussion in the separate room.
The full-scale campaign is apparently starting tomorrow, but I wonder how they'll handle it?
Just as I was thinking about this, the club room door burst open.
The people who appeared were Xenovia, Irina, and Kiryuu, who were supposed to be in the separate room.
Kiryuu announced grandly.
"I've selected Xenovia-cchi's fighting clothes!"
"Hmph, do I look good?"
Xenovia, striking a cool pose, was wearing an outfit that looked like what a European nobleman from the Middle Ages might wear. And it was for men.
"Cross-dressing… I think it suits Xenovia pretty well. But why did you choose that?"
"Heh heh heh, that outfit suits Xenovia-cchi, and it looks Presidential!"
"Sorry, but to me, you look like some sort of Elegant Kakka (Excellency)."
"Oh really? Well, that's fine. If she stands in front of the school gate and gives a speech in this outfit, she'll get screams of adoration from the female students."
No way… Cosplay is not okay. That would be a clear violation. Besides, in that outfit, you look like you're saying, 'I want to be the loser.' I'm being quite serious.
Then, Miwa interjected.
"In that case, how about something like, 'I dare say that you are trash!'?"
"You're using that in the wrong context! Why did that line even come up!?"
"I watched it yesterday. How about, 'Garma is dead! Why!?'?"
"Because he was a boy! No, no! That's definitely a speech, but the content is rejected!"
Miwa, I thought you were just watching TV late at night with Diarmuid, but what nostalgic stuff is this!
~Meanwhile, Dil-chan~
"I will not let this happen! I will not let this happen!"
"Oh! Dil-chan, you're quite good, nya!"
"Ahaha… Was Diarmuid-san always like this?"
Diarmuid and Kuroka were having a video game showdown.
And Le Fay was watching them.
~End of Dil-chan's segment~
As we were having that conversation, Kiryuu said.
"Well, leaving the speech aside, if Xenovia-cchi could use magic to charm people, she'd be invincible~"
"No, that would be bad. You can't do that to regular students—"
…Hm?
Wait, what did she just say…?
"...K-Kiryuu-san... Did you just say magic and charm?"
"I did, so what?"
Hmm… She replied quite calmly.
Let's calm down, stay cool. Kiryuu is a regular student, and she shouldn't know about us, right…?
With that as the premise… I turned my gaze to Xenovia.
"An explanation, please."
"Kiryuu is one of my regulars. Of course, she knows our true identity."
"...Yeah, that was exactly the answer I expected. Since when?"
Kiryuu spoke, recalling the memory.
"It was sometime in December, I think. I got a flyer in front of the station, tried it out, and Xenovia-cchi showed up. Then Rias-senpai appeared, and after talking things over, I learned the situation."
December… Last month.
It's true that we hand out flyers in front of the station, so it was possible for someone from the academy to summon us. In that case, Rias, our master, would have appeared and smoothed things over…
From the looks of it, only the Church Trio and Rias knew about this. Even Kiba looked a little surprised.
Kiryuu laughed cheerfully and said.
"Don't worry. I haven't told anyone, and I haven't told Matsuda or Motohama. It was a request from Rias-senpai and my friend Asia, so I wouldn't tell anyone, would I? I'm surprisingly tight-lipped about things like that."
"Yeah, well, I know you're good at keeping secrets."
After all, she's kept quiet about me and Miwa for one reason or another.
However, what I was thinking was—
"So, Kiryuu also knew about us, huh."
I said, looking out the window.
At those words, the members who weren't Miwa, Alice, or Ravel—in other words, the members who weren't my Peerage—tilted their heads.
Leina asked.
"Issei-kun. Did you just say, 'Kiryuu also'?"
"I did."
"Does that mean there's someone else…?"
Yes, exactly. There is another ordinary person who knows about us.
That person is—
"Our homeroom teacher, Sakata-sensei. He became one of my regulars."
"""EHHHHHHHHH!?"""
~Meanwhile, Sakata-sensei~
"You idiot, no, that's wrong! The stance for the Pegasus Meteor Fist is like this!"
"You're the one who's wrong! That move traces the trajectory of the Pegasus Constellation! Yours is a mess! Also, give me back the ramen money from the other day already!"
Azazel-sensei and Sakata-sensei were arguing about the stance of the Pegasus Meteor Fist behind the school building.
~End of Sakata-sensei's segment~
By the way, Sakata-sensei's request is to deliver the weekly Jump manga magazine. And to bring him sweets when he needs a sugar rush.
"So, that's why he also knows about us."
"No, no, no, you should have told us about that sooner!"
"Sorry. We were so shocked that we completely forgot to mention it."
I apologized to Kiba, who made a perfectly reasonable point.
Yeah, we should have said something sooner.
Sakata-sensei, by the way, only found out about us this month.
"Well, the teacher seems to be tight-lipped too, so it should be fine."
With that, I concluded the topic.
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