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It was seven o'clock in the evening. At Kuoh Academy, the girls, having just finished dinner at the school cafeteria nearby, strolled back to the old school building.
"Ah~ Another long day. By the way, Asia, did you eat enough dinner just now?"
"Th-Thank you for your concern. Asia ate until she was full."
The blonde girl still looked like a meek little bunny. Following behind Rias and Akeno Himejima as they entered the door, she gave a heartwarming, gentle smile when she heard herself being addressed, a slight embarrassment coloring her face.
After all, she had certainly eaten a lot tonight, and it was quite a feast.
When she was with the Church, unless it was an important holiday like Christmas, daily dinners were extremely simple—just bread or rice porridge. Big feasts of meat were considered a shameful indulgence.
So, a bowl of chashu ramen with a side of fried tempura was already a rare delicacy for her.
"But... Asia thought Miss Rias would be unhappy."
"Unhappy? Why?"
Rias, who was just about to head upstairs, paused at the staircase landing and turned back, asking curiously. Did she really look like such a temperamental person?
"It's not that, really..."
Gently closing the main door of the old school building behind her, the blonde nun scratched her cheek in embarrassment.
"After all, I've caused Miss Rias so much trouble—helping me find a place to stay, dealing with my enrollment procedures. And I... hmm, how should I put it? I just feel a little..."
"Well~ Don't worry too much about that. Since I promised to give you time to think things over, Asia, I certainly won't go back on my word." Rias smiled faintly, shrugging slightly. "When I was younger, I used to think the more Peerage members I had, the better. But later, after experiencing more, I slowly realized that being a Peerage member simply means forcibly converting the other person's race into a Devil, and that's all."
"Ultimately, those who would betray you will find every way to do so even as a Peerage member. And those who won't betray you, even if they aren't of your race and there's no contract between you, will still step forward and save you when you face danger."
As she spoke the last line, a trace of tenderness involuntarily appeared on her face.
But the next second, Asia's response shattered that softness.
"Like Reiji-san?"
"Ugh... Reiji?! Why did you suddenly bring him up? This has nothing to do with him, honestly..."
Two blushes instantly rose to Rias's cheeks. She was slightly flustered by the sudden confrontation with the truth.
"Ahem! Anyway, that's the principle of it! Besides, while your Sacred Gear is special, Asia, it's not at the point where we need to forcefully snatch it." Rias quickly composed herself, clearing her throat with a hand clenched in a fist. "And besides, we Gremory are not unreasonable Devils..."
"Speaking of Sacred Gear—" Asia pondered, tapping her finger on the corner of her mouth. "Reiji-san doesn't have a Sacred Gear?"
"As for him... I think he once said he has one, but for some reason, he either doesn't want to use it or doesn't like using it. Anyway, we've never seen him use it." Rias paused here. "Oh, right, I almost forgot to mention the important news. The school sent me a message saying Asia's enrollment procedures are complete. You're in the same class as Reiji. You'll be able to attend formal classes together when they start and then..."
"Really? That's wonderful!"
Before Rias could finish, the blonde girl, upon hearing she was assigned to the same class as Hanakain Reiji, immediately pumped her fists high above her head, cheering joyfully and cutely. "That means, starting tomorrow, I can be with Reiji-san not just in the afternoon, but in the morning and noon, too! Yay..."
"Ah, unfortunately, you still can't meet tomorrow."
"Eh? Why?"
"Because tomorrow and the day after are the weekend. The school is off. Reiji won't be coming to school. You'll have to wait until Monday to see each other."
"Oh, that's too bad..."
"Well, that's everything. I'm heading upstairs now. Akeno, Koneko, Asia, if you want to shower, feel free to go first."
Tossing out her final words lightly, Rias turned and headed upstairs.
The perspective shifts to the bedroom.
"Phew~ All done, finished up."
Sitting at the desk by the window, Rias finished the final stroke in her notebook. She let out a long breath, threw aside her ballpoint pen, arched her back, and stretched her arms high in a big yawn.
She had just finished writing today's diary entry.
A quick glance showed that the daily entries were brief; one page could hold several days' worth of content.
[April 25th: Reiji said he found some treasure on a mission yesterday and wanted to show us, but it was just a finger. It looks ugly and a bit disgusting, but apparently it's an important sealed Cursed Object from the Sorcerer Association. He was called away mid-club activity by someone. I wonder what happened afterward... Honestly, he shouldn't keep picking up weird things.]
[April 26th: Reiji really manages to run into all sorts of strange things. He bumped into a nun on his way out this morning and ran into a Fallen Angel on his way home this evening. He dragged us to a church late at night to save someone, and it turned out to be the nun! How does he manage to be so coincidental? Did he install a GPS tracker on the nun or something? ...But the way he said he'd come save me if I was in danger was actually kind of cool.]
[April 27th: Akeno has been getting stranger these past two days. She keeps inexplicably picking fights with me over seating and says she likes Reiji, so she wants to sit with him. Reiji is annoying too. Why didn't he make her sit properly when she hugged him? What's the meaning of that public wrestling? And I never even realized their relationship was so close before...]
Like clocking in for work, while other names came and went over the past few days of diary entries, one name constantly reappeared.
And she hadn't thought much of these entries while writing them, but looking back now, why did they look more and more like the petty complaints of a girl in love?
Feeling a slight burning sensation on her face, Rias let out a soft, tsundere "Hmph," and pressed the back of her cool hand against her cheeks to try and cool down.
Just then, a magic circle suddenly appeared on the floor behind the girl, radiating a soft red light accompanied by a fluctuation of Demonic Power.
Hmm?
Sensing the power fluctuation behind her, Rias quickly snapped her diary shut and turned to look.
Within the red transport magic circle, the figure of a mature woman dressed as a maid, bearing a striking resemblance to Sakuya Izayoi from Touhou, gradually solidified.
The girl paused slightly, murmuring aloud.
"Grayfia... Onee-sama."
"Good evening, Lady Rias."
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