3:49 PM.
Student Council Room.
"So you're Rito Yuki."
"And you must be Souna Shitori, or rather… Sona Sitri?"
"If you know my real name, then things change…" Sona adjusted her glasses: "How could you, who until a few days ago was an ordinary human, know my identity? Did Princess Lala tell you?"
"Why would she do that? And I don't even know if she knows you, though I do know she met Rias Gremory before." He replied: "As for how I knew your real identity… Did you really try that hard to hide it?"
"Touché." She said indifferently: "Moving on. Why did you talk about me to Ren? Or rather, why did you make him think I was going to turn him into a Devil?"
"Isn't that what happened?" Rito responded with a question, adding: "And thanks to me, you got a good servant, right?"
"While that's true, I don't like the way that sounds at all." She said: "Let's get to the point. I hate owing others. I admit Ren has tremendous talent. So, you did me a favor. Tell me, what do you want from me? I assume you wanted something from me when you did this."
'I just want you to keep him on a short leash…'
Of course, he wasn't going to say that.
"What do I want from you?" He crossed his arms, lowering his head, thoughtful.
Honestly, he wanted her to use all her abilities in front of him so he could copy them. But he couldn't ask for something like that… Or could he?
No, no… Better not to irritate her too much.
Unable to think of anything he wanted from her, he replied: "Then give me money."
"Human world money?" She asked, her tone slightly surprised.
He said: "Yeah, preferably Japanese money."
"Then I'll deposit one billion yen into your account. Give me your bank details." She said, grabbing her smartphone.
'As expected from a rich girl, she just casually wants to transfer a billion…' Rito didn't quite understand the world of the wealthy.
"I'm waiting."
"Oh, right." He replied: "My account is…"
As he answered, he thought: 'Should I make a pool of money and dive into it with Lala and Mikan?'
"Done. You can check." She put her smartphone away.
"That fast?" Rito was surprised.
When he looked at his smartphone and saw the bank notification with the number 1 followed by several zeros, he held his breath for a moment.
'Does she own a bank or something? How can she transfer that much money so quickly?'
"So… If that's all, I'm going?" He replied.
"Yes, you can go." She waved her hand toward the door.
…
Even after leaving the Student Council Room, he still couldn't believe he had suddenly become a billionaire.
Sure, a billionaire in Japanese yen, but still a billionaire!
'Wait, calm down… It's not like I'm going to get corrupted by money. Breathe, think a little… Yeah, I'll buy an imported car and… I want a pool at home. Mm, yeah, that's the right mindset!'
After taking about ten steps, he stopped.
'Wait, wait… What's this about buying an imported car?' He thought: 'God, I'm not thinking straight… Oh, right, the purple orbs, yeah, in times like this, they come in handy…'
Using the energy of the purple orb, the effect of being 'drunk on money' started to fade until he could think clearly again.
When he did, he felt a bit ashamed of himself for the foolish thoughts from just moments ago.
With a calm mind, he could think more clearly.
'I'll set this money aside for now. If I need it, I'll use it, but I don't need to keep thinking about what to spend it on.'
With that thought in mind, he resumed walking toward the school library.
…
Tsubaki couldn't understand… Why did Sona give him one billion yen?
"I know exactly what you're thinking, Tsubaki." Sona said: "And I had my reasons for doing it."
"Sorry, I…"
"No need to apologize." Sona said: "It's not strange that you feel this way. I did it just now for two reasons."
"Two reasons?"
Sona looked at Tomoe Meguri.
Tomoe is a beautiful girl with reddish-brown hair that reaches her shoulders, tied in pigtails, and brown eyes. Her hair has bangs and a single strand sticking out from the top.
"Exactly." Sona revealed: "First, I wasn't lying. I'm grateful for what he did; Ren is truly a rare talent, so it wasn't a lie that he did me a favor, and since I don't like being in debt, if money can settle it, that's even better for me. Second, I wanted to see how he would react to receiving so much money."
"And how did he react?"
"Exactly as I thought he would." She smiled slightly, interlacing her fingers: "Like a kid who got double their allowance from their parents and started thinking about what to spend it on."
==
Rito, Lala, Haruna, and the others stayed studying in the library until late.
After leaving the school and walking together for a bit, they stopped since they were heading in different directions.
"See you later, Rito, Lala."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow!" Lala waved with a smile.
"Yuki, take good care of Lala on the way back." Risa said.
"I will." He replied.
"I'll protect Rito!" Lala said with a serious expression, drawing some laughs.
As they walked hand in hand, Lala said: "Hey, Rito, let's stop for a bit at that park?"
"Sure." He agreed.
The park was surrounded by trees with a fountain in the middle.
Before they could sit on the bench, the wind warned him about something flying, but it was already too late. The space around them was sealed.
"A barrier?" Lala murmured.
"Lala, stay behind me." Rito looked in the direction from which someone was approaching.
"What a coincidence we have here. To think I'd run into an inferior being while passing through." Emerging from the shadows was a man dressed entirely in black, who continued: "I got really lucky… Yes, truly great luck!"
"Peke!" Lala called.
"Yes, Miss Lala!"
Behind Rito, Lala began transforming into her Battle Mode.
"I won't let you lay a single finger on Rito!" Lala shouted as she finished her transformation.
"Oh-hoo? You've got some guts! But in the end, you're nothing but an inferior being, a piece of trash!" He shouted.
The man's voice was calm, as if everything was under his control.
"Who's the inferior one? How rude!" Lala puffed out her cheeks: "Now I'm mad!"
Rito activated the Sage's Eyes.
"Lala, leave this to me." He looked at her.
"Rito, those eyes…"
"I'll explain later." He replied.
"Got it!" She took a step back: "Wipe the floor with him!"
"Wipe me out? That's a funny thing to say… Truly funny. Is your confidence because of those eyes?" The man asked: "Those eyes… Are they a Sacred Gear?"
Even in the darkness, Rito could see clearly with the Sage's Eyes activated. Before him was a middle-aged man with short black hair and dark blue eyes. His attire consisted of a light gray overcoat over a white dress shirt with a matching tie, black pants and shoes, a pair of black gloves, and a black top hat.
Suddenly, a pair of black-feathered wings manifested on the man's back.
"An angel?" Lala murmured.
"Not exactly, but yes, a fallen angel." Rito said.
"Hmph, knowing that won't help you survive." The fallen angel said: "I don't sense any markings on you, so I shouldn't have any trouble if I kill you both right here and now."
In his right hand, a blue spear of light was created.
It was 1.5 meters long and had a triangular opening in the middle.
Leaning forward, he threw the blue light spear.
The entire process was observed by Rito's eyes, but he didn't want to replicate it now.
Creating a green wind spear, he attacked in the direction of the man's light spear.
"Rito?"
Lala had never seen him use wind before, so she showed surprise.
With no time to explain to her, he saw the moment the two spears collided.
*Boom!*
In an explosion of light, the two spears canceled each other out in the air.
"Is that all you've got? If so, I'm quite disappointed for someone who talked so big about wiping us out." Rito mocked.
"How cheeky!" Shouting, the fallen angel said: "You asked for it!"
Raising his hands to the sky, a light spear began to form and grow in size.
Nearly five meters long and blue, with the same pattern as the previous one but larger, the fallen angel shouted as he attacked: "Die!"
*Whoosh!*
"Now it's finally getting interesting!" Rito not only began to replicate the blue light spear but also manifested fallen angel wings on his back.
"What!?" The fallen angel was caught off guard.
The Sage's Eyes weren't just for show. He threw the first five-meter blue light spear and created a second one. Each light spear required 50% of his Spiritual Mana, but in the process, he recharged his Spiritual Mana with red light orbs.
*Boooom!*
The two blue light spears collided in the air, causing a tremendous explosion, and the second one reached the fallen angel, who tried to escape through the sky but was still hit at the waist.
"Damn it!!" The fallen angel shouted as he vanished like a shattering mirror: "What the hell are you?!"
In moments, the fallen angel, who didn't even leave his name behind, turned into ashes blown away by the wind, and his black-feathered wings fell to the ground like a shower of crow feathers.
At the same time, the barrier surrounding them began to dissolve.
"Rito!" Lala, seeing it was over, jumped and hugged him: "How did you become so powerful? And how did you manage to use that evil man's abilities?"
"Lala, calm down first." Rito said: "I'll explain everything to you."
"Okay!" She agreed.
He deactivated the Sage's Eyes and the black-feathered wings. He admitted it was a bit cruel to use them in the end to deliver an even bigger blow to that fallen angel.
But who did that guy think he was, calling him and Lala inferior beings?
==
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