"Am I an idiot!? I am! Aaaah!"
Back home after the humiliating spectacle he'd been dragged into at the park, Issei kicked and thrashed under his blanket. The shock had only just hit him: Yuuma had actually been someone who came to kill him, and there were beings beyond human understanding. On top of that, the fact that he'd tried to touch Raynare's chest and even lick it had been seen by other people. For a teenager, it was a devastating blow to his pride, and he kept flailing helplessly beneath the covers.
"Haa..."
At last, Issei managed to steady his breathing and calm down.
"Wait a second, wasn't there no need to run away from there in the first place!?"
Come to think of it, he could have used the [Sharingan] to erase their memories. So the regret was piling up... and the blanket-kicking too...
"Aaaah!! I'm an idiot!! An idiot!! What kind of moron am I!?"
With the [Rinnegan] and the Ten-Tails, he had become the strongest being in this world, but what he probably needed most now was mental fortitude. And so, in this utterly haggard state, Issei returned to school as a lonely single man once again.
"Come to think of it, isn't there no need to walk everywhere? If I just mark places with the Flying Thunder God Technique..."
Once his sanity returned, all sorts of ideas began surfacing, and his brain started working overtime. In his previous life, he had already thought of many things while looking at the [Rinnegan] and [Sharingan]. And now he had time, he knew how to use them, and he could make whatever he wanted a reality.
"Then first, somewhere with fewer people..."
If he moved openly near the main school building, where students were always coming and going, he'd draw attention. So he headed toward the old school building, where there were far fewer people. There were rumors about school ghosts and all sorts of other stories, so almost nobody went there. It was the perfect place, and he searched around for a spot worth marking.
"This should be good."
In the back courtyard of the old school building, trees and the building itself blocked the view from both sides, so there was almost no chance of being discovered. He decided on that spot and finished marking the ground.
"Oh my, what are you doing in a place like this?"
One of the academy's two great senior beauties, with long black hair and gorgeous proportions.
"H-Himejima-senpai!?"
"That's an incredible chest!"
It was Himejima Akeno. Startled by Akeno's sudden appearance, Issei hurriedly raised a hand and tried to act innocent, but Akeno, still wearing a bright, cheerful smile, noticed the marking carved into the ground.
"Ah..."
He was completely cornered. While he was frantically thinking about how to explain himself, he blurted out, "I-I mean, I was practicing drawing in the dirt..."
"What am I even saying?"
It was ridiculous for a high school student to be doodling on the ground, and he forced out an awkward smile that would've made even a passing dog laugh. But Akeno was still smiling brightly.
"Oh my, is that so? The old school building doesn't get many visitors, so I was quite surprised. Well then."
"Huh?"
Still smiling, Akeno simply walked away. Issei stood there, dumbfounded for a while.
"Ah, I'm going to be late for homeroom!"
Checking the time, he shot off toward the school building at full speed. The moment he disappeared, Akeno's smiling face appeared again.
"Ufufufu."
With a laugh that gave no hint of what she was thinking, she stared at the pattern carved into the ground.
.
.
.
.
.
"Haaah... even after awakening the [Rinnegan], being sleepy is still a problem."
Having been a third-year in his previous life, second-year classes were unbearably dull. After listening to such boring lessons for so long, yawns came naturally, and while he wondered if the [Rinnegan] could do something about it, unfortunately there was no method in Issei's head for driving away fatigue.
"Should I take a nap?"
Because of what had happened yesterday, he hadn't slept properly, and the drowsiness was overwhelming. So after going to the restroom, he created a clone, sent it to class, and moved himself to the back courtyard of the old school building where he had marked the ground that morning. He was about to lie down comfortably when...
"Oh my, oh my."
"Huh?"
It was definitely a face he had seen that morning. Akeno was there again, touching her cheek with one finger and looking at the suddenly arrived Issei with a troubled expression. When their eyes met, Issei broke into a cold sweat.
"Ah, um... hello?"
"We meet again. Ufufufu, you're Hyoudou Issei, the second-year, aren't you?"
"How do you know my name!?"
"Ufufufu, would you mind if we talked for a moment?"
Faced with Akeno's polite question, Issei tried to run away in a hurry, but his feet froze. He considered using [Genjutsu] and escaping, but using something like that on the admired Himejima Akeno-senpai felt absolutely impossible.
"But if my identity gets exposed like this..."
"Uh... well..."
"Is this the boy you mentioned this morning, Akeno?"
"R-Rias-senpai!?"
While Issei was desperately thinking, another beautiful girl appeared behind him. It was Rias Gremory, the other of the academy's two great beauties, with strikingly gorgeous crimson hair.
"Perfect timing, President."
"Whaaaat!?"
Sensing that he'd stepped into a trap, Issei could only manage an awkward smile, and in the end he was dragged along and taken into a classroom in the old school building.
"Um... where is this?"
"This is the Occult Research Club's clubroom. Now then, Hyoudou Issei, I have a proposal for you."
"A proposal? What is it?"
His gaze was automatically fixed on the elegant, alluring way she sat on the sofa while speaking. Because of Rias Gremory's seductive proportions, Issei felt like something good was about to happen, and his nose flared, but...
"Before that, I should introduce myself properly. I'm Rias Gremory, president of the Occult Research Club, and..."
"Eek!?"
He was horrified when black wings suddenly sprouted from Rias's back. Black wings—just like the ones that had appeared on Amano Yuuma, who had tried to kill him yesterday, though their shape was different from Rias's.
"I'm a Devil. I'd like you to become my [Peerage]. What do you say?"
[Peerage], in other words, she wanted him to serve her as his master. He understood the sudden proposal, but his heart couldn't keep up.
"Ehh... even if you suddenly say something like that..."
He had already obtained the unreal power called the [Rinnegan], so the existence of other unreal beings wasn't strange. Still, being told to become a Devil's [Peerage] filled him with intense resistance. In his mind, Devils were beings who made unreasonable contracts with humans and devoured their souls.
"Well, it's not a bad offer for you either. As long as you have that [Sacred Gear], you'll keep being targeted by Fallen Angels. I think it would be better for you to come over to our side."
"[Sacred Gear]? Come to think of it, Yuuma-chan too..."
Amano Yuuma had tried to kill him because of that [Sacred Gear]. But he had no idea what it was.
"You don't know? A [Sacred Gear] is..."
Rias Gremory's explanation continued. A [Sacred Gear] was a power beyond the ordinary that dwelled within certain humans. Most of the great figures in history were said to have possessed one, and some even wielded power enough to make Devils and Fallen Angels fear them. And because Fallen Angels would awaken and become a threat, Amano Yuuma had been sent to eliminate him in advance.
"Eh!? Senpai was there too!?"
"A Fallen Angel barrier had been deployed in my territory, so I went on patrol and happened to see it. So, have you decided to come over to our side?"
It was certainly not a bad offer. He still didn't fully understand the nature of the power dwelling within him, and compared to being left alone in this other world swarming with Fallen Angels and Devils, joining someone's faction wasn't a bad choice. But that was only true if he were an ordinary person. He didn't know how well the [Rinnegan] would work in this world, but at the very least, the current Issei possessed enough power to change the map of the Earth—or, if he really put his mind to it, to destroy all of humanity. He didn't need anyone's protection just to defend himself. So he was about to refuse, thinking it was an unnecessary offer, when...
"I'm not trying to force you. If you become my [Peerage], there are merits for you too."
"Ufufufu, the President is more affectionate toward her servants than other high-class Devils."
As Rias crossed her legs on the desk right in front of Issei, black lace panties were exposed, and Akeno leaned in close to his ear and whispered. Before he knew it, his nose started flaring again.
"Ah... yes... I..."
"No!! Calm down! Don't fall for the sex appeal, virgin! Devil contracts are exactly that, aren't they!? One wrong move and they'll strip even your soul bare! Like hell I'm signing some suspicious contract like that!"
He barely managed to regain his reason and was about to refuse, but...
"Well, Devils are often seen in a bad light because of those unreasonable soul contracts, so I understand. In reality, it's a fair contract where both sides give and take equally. I won't force you, though. I'm only recommending it for your sake, so I'd like you to think it over and give me your answer later."
Rias was even considering his position. Seeing such a kind-hearted, beautiful girl, he simply couldn't see her as some kind of evil Devil. So he decided to ask directly.
"Then why, of all things, do you want to make me your [Peerage]?"
"Well, besides the fact that I took a liking to you at first sight, it's also for the sake of increasing our forces."
"Increasing your forces?"
"Yes. We Devils have a system called Evil Pieces..."
Rias Gremory began explaining again. Evil Pieces were a system created to help the dwindling prosperity of the Devils and to foster competition among them. They were composed of sixteen pieces, like chess, and could dwell within the bodies of a high-class Devil's [Peerage]. Knight, Rook, Bishop, Queen, and Pawn—each piece had its own traits, and all of them could be assigned at the discretion of the high-class Devil acting as the King. At first, one started as a low-class Devil, but by accumulating achievements under a high-class Devil, one could eventually become a high-class Devil themselves and build their own Evil Pieces to form a team.
Having heard all that, Issei nodded as if he understood everything.
"Then I could build my own team and do whatever I want... no, wait, reincarnation?"
"! Then becoming a [Peerage] means... becoming a Devil through reincarnation!?"
"Yes, that's right."
At Issei's horrified cry, Rias smiled brightly as she answered, and Issei collapsed onto the floor. If it were just becoming a [Peerage], he might have considered it, but becoming a Devil himself... the idea of abandoning humanity and turning into a Devil simply wouldn't sink in for him, and he didn't want to think about it either.
"I refuse! I'm fine staying human! Well then, excuse me!"
As if he were being dragged into organ trafficking, he sensed danger to his very life and immediately used the Flying Thunder God Technique to move back home. The instant Issei vanished,
"Akeno... that boy said he didn't know about the [Sacred Gear], didn't he?"
"Yes, President."
"Then what was that just now?"
"Who knows~ Ufufufu."
Hyoudou Issei had used [Flying Thunder God Technique] without thinking, when he should have simply opened the door and walked out like a normal person... and now his identity was about to be exposed.