Chapter 73 ~ Panic and Shock
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hm…”
<span style="font-weight:400">*Clink*
<span style="font-weight:400">“Here you go, pres.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ah, thank you, Akeno.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The sound of the ceramic te hitting against her mahogany wood desk brought Rias out of her daze.
<span style="font-weight:400">Before she knew it, there was a steaming cup of darjeeling tea her queen had prepared before her. She hadn’t even realized Akeno’s approach until she ced it down on her desk.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hah…”
<span style="font-weight:400">A deep sigh escaped her lips after taking a sip of her tea.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You seemed tired. How about resting for a while?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Rias shook her head to Akeno’s thoughtful suggestion.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I can’t. I need to keep a watch on her. I need to catch a glimpse of her ability and the “group of people” she’s associated with.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Rias had spent her entire afternoon watching Aika through her familiar. After the breakdown in negotiations and failing to persuade her into entering her peerage, Rias needed to find out her abilities and information on the “group” behind her to make sure she would not pose a threat to her, her peerage, and the city she was in charge of.
<span style="font-weight:400">But instead, she felt increasingly vexed as she continued to observe the woman named Aika.
<span style="font-weight:400">Born with immense beauty and status as a high-ranking devil, the princess of the Gremory ducal household, and the little sister of the strongest devil in the underworld, Rias took pride in her self worth as one of, if not, the most beautiful, powerful, and influential young devil.
<span style="font-weight:400">She had always been revered for her beauty and received countless courtings from male humans and devils alike.
<span style="font-weight:400">But now… she found someone with beauty that surpassed even her.
<span style="font-weight:400">Naturally, she rejected the thought at first. She convinced herself that she was simply surprised to see someone as beautiful as herself all of a sudden.
<span style="font-weight:400">But… those denial slowly turned into vexation and envy as she continued to observe Aika.
<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">With nothing special happening around her, Rias’s attention naturally focused on her dazzling appearance.
<span style="font-weight:400">At first, she simply admired Aika’s beauty and evenplimented her for having a beauty on par with herself. But as she continued to observe her, she began noticing some things that Aika was better in than her.
<span style="font-weight:400">Her skin was unblemished and beautiful, even more so than any female devils she knew who were supposed to embody devilish beauty. Her eyes were bewitching, and her lips, nose, and ears were all so perfectly shaped.
<span style="font-weight:400">Aika’s waist seemed to also be slimmer and more athletic than her. Even her breasts and hips, that Rias was so proud of, lost in all aspects; size, shape, and sticity.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was as if she was created to be the embodiment of absolute beauty.
<span style="font-weight:400">Someone who’d elicit envy even from the most beautiful women in all realms… That is what Rias came to a conclusion about Aika after observing her all afternoon.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Well, there’s no use being upset over this… Since she declined my invitation to be a half devil, her beauty will soon disappear with age.</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">Rias thought, convincing and calming herself with such belief without knowing that Aika would obtain an SSR that would make her even more beautiful and eternal than a devil like her.
<span style="font-weight:400">With such thoughts, Rias was able to curb away her envy and vexation and resumed observing Aika through her familiar.
<span style="font-weight:400">And just then, she noticed something.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Akeno, gather everyone here as soon as possible.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Eh? But they’ve all just gone back home… Did something happen?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes… There’s a fallen angel stalking her.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Akeno’s eyes widened in shock. Anger, despair, frustration, and hatred filled her eyes as traumatic memories of her mother’s death shed through her mind. But she quickly calmed herself and did as Rias ordered.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Understood.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Rias began to watch Aika and the fallen angel stalking her more closely as Akeno contacted Koneko, Kiba, and Issei.
<span style="font-weight:400">The fallen angel following her wasn’t the female fallen that killed Issei. It was a male fallen, the one that had also attacked Issei a few nights ago.
<span style="font-weight:400">He was closing in slowly, and Aika didn’t seem to notice him. If she was a regr person, then Rias would’ve immediately assumed that she didn’t notice the fallen angel, who was most likely concealing his presence.
<span style="font-weight:400">But Rias knew that Aika was familiar with the supernatural, and seemed to be a fairly strong sacred gear user. So, herck of reaction was most likely an act.
<span style="font-weight:400">The fallen angel didn’t seem to notice it, however, and continued to approach her with a voracious and lustful expression.
<span style="font-weight:400">Rias continued to watch, wondering if she could finally catch a glimpse of Aika’s ability. But when he was finally only a few meters away from Aika, she quickly shook her head.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">No, this is wrong!</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">No matter how envious she was of her or how much she wanted to know about her skills, Rias couldn’t simply watch as a student of her school was attacked by a fallen angel.
<span style="font-weight:400">She needed to go now.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Akeno! We’re going now!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Did they attack her?!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“They’re about to!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Akeno quickly conjured up a magic circle as Rias quickly made her way to her queen’s side while still watching Aika through her familiar’s vision.
<span style="font-weight:400">But all of a sudden, her connection with her familiar was cut and the teleportation magic circle shattered.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Eh?! What’s going on?!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Pres, could they perhaps erected a barrier?”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">Rias bit her thumb nail in frustration and shook her head.
<span style="font-weight:400">“No… My connection with my family didn’t cut off even when he had already erected a barrier. And that kind of barrier wouldn’t be powerful enough to cancel your teleportation.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“That’s true… Then, what should we do?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Just then, the door mmed open and Kiba, Koneko, and an exhausted Issei came barging in.
<span style="font-weight:400">“President! Is it an emergency?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiba asked with urgency.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Kiryuu Aika is being targeted by a fallen. Akeno’s teleportation magic failed and my connection with my familiar is cut off.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Rias clenched her teeth as numerous questions filled her mind.
<span style="font-weight:400">Just what happened? Who did it? And how was Aika’s situation right now?
<span style="font-weight:400">“We need to go there by foot! Hurry!”
<span style="font-weight:400">““Yes!””
<span style="font-weight:400">“E-Eh?! By foot?! But I just ran- Ah, please wait for me!!!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Rias led her peerage to the road shest saw Aika in, running as fast as they could with Isseigging behind.
<span style="font-weight:400">Naturally, the figures of the two of three greatest beauties of Kuoh, the blonde-haired prince, and the adorable mascot of Kuoh, and one of the infamous perverted trio running through the school grounds attracted a lot of attention.
<span style="font-weight:400">But such a thing didn’t matter to them at the moment. They could simply erase the students’ memories about thister on if it proved to be a problem for them. Right now, their main priority is to arrive at the scene and, if they’re not toote, save Aika from danger.
<span style="font-weight:400">They quickly arrived at the scene, and every single one of them stopped and froze in ce.
<span style="font-weight:400">There’s no battle. No… There <i><span style="font-weight:400">was</i><span style="font-weight:400"> a battle, as evident from the devastated road, impact marks, and destroyed asphalt. Bloody ck raven feathers, blood stters, and obvious signs of battle were numerous. But there was no… body.
<span style="font-weight:400">And to their surprise, all the blood here belonged not to a human as they expected, but a fallen.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What… What’s going on…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Rias slowly took a step forward, followed by the rest of her peerage, as she looked around baffled.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Pres, that…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Rias turned her gaze towards the direction Akeno pointed at, and saw an especially massive crater with more blood seeped within its cracks than anywhere else.
<span style="font-weight:400">They all approached it and saw even more ck feathers in it.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Could it be… Did Aika-san do all of this…?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Akeno muttered in disbelief.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Such destruction… I don’t feel much magic from her this morning. And considering her physical prowess… She must have surpassed the realm of normal humans by far physically.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Rias reasoned.
<span style="font-weight:400">“E-Eh? T-That K-Kiryuu Aika did this…?!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Considering she threw me before I even knew it, I think it’s a fair assumption.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Mm.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Koneko nodded to Kiba’s words as Issei still looked at the scene in disbelief.
<span style="font-weight:400">He still couldn’t imagine how such a lithe and frail-looking beauty like Kiryuu Aika could create such devastation…?
<span style="font-weight:400">“...Akeno, please call Aika-san again tomorrow. We’ll need some answers.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes, pres.”
<span style="font-weight:400">--------------------------------X--------------------------------
<span style="font-weight:400">[Aika-chan, be careful~ You are currently being watched by two devils.]
<span style="font-weight:400">The alluring, melodic voice of a mature woman resounded within Aika’s mind. Unlike the original [Great Sage], who sounded more robotic and younger, Aika had made it so that she sounded more mature and sexy to her preference. It was a way for her to fulfill her desire to have an older sister as an only child.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Ah… I can sense it too, [Great Sage]. They must’ve noticed my confrontation with that fallen, huh?</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">With her keen senses in addition to the absolutely broken skill she got from Tatsuya’s world, “Elemental Sight”, Aika could clearly sense Rias and Akeno watching her from the old school building the moment she entered the school premise even without her Great Sage’s help.
<span style="font-weight:400">She pretended to ignore them and continued making her way inside the school. It was a bit unnerving, but at least, the ones watching her were beautiful girls.
<span style="font-weight:400">[Ufufufu~ They’re extremely shocked right now because you are emitting such immense magic power.]
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Eh? Immense magic power?</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">[That’s right~ The reward you received frompleting your mission, specifically your Immense Psion Count, has been turned into Immense Magic Power.]
<i><span style="font-weight:400">I see… Well, I would’ve liked to conceal it, but it can’t be helped now.</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">[Don’t worry~ I’ve concealed 70% of your magic power.]
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Really? Thank you, nee-san!</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">Aika let out a sigh of relief inwardly. She didn’t want to emit her full magic power since they might consider it an act of threat. It would be a different case if Rias, Sona, and the devils in this school were tantly showing their hostility towards her. But since they have enough tact to hide their magic power while peeking on someone, they should have no intention of being hostile towards her.
<span style="font-weight:400">[No~ Ufufufu~ They are not concealing their magic.]
<span style="font-weight:400">Aika’s eyes widened ever so slightly, trying her best to appear normal while keeping her surprise internal.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Eh? S-Seriously? Aren’t they supposed to be high-ranking devils? Hey, Sage-neesan, are you sure you’re right?</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">[Geez, how could you doubt me~ Have I ever been wrong~?]
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Well… No, but… Nee-san, are they trying to be hostile to me?</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">[No. I sense no hostilitying from them.]
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Then why…? Ah, is it because they’ve never trained seriously?</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">Aika recalled in the anime that Rias’s peerage never went through rigorous training. They were simply living life like regr humans, aside from their asional contract fulfillment duties. Other than that, they’ve never truly tried to improve themselves in such a dangerous world.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">I guess it’s because she believes no one would touch her with Lucifer as her brother.</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">She sighed inwardly. Now that she had grown and experienced more stuff rted to the supernatural, the crimson-haired princess of destruction now looked more like a spoiled princess.
<span style="font-weight:400">Why wasn’t she training her best if she really hated the engagement her father set with the Phenex family? Why was she wasting time being a student and casually trying to find a talent that woulde to this remote school? It was as if she’s betting everything on finding a diamond in the rough that could help her. If it wasn’t for plot armor, then she might very well be looking for her wedding dress now.
<span style="font-weight:400">Aika thought it might be pretty nice to have her as her future sister in Yuuji’s harem. But now… She didn’t want Yuuji to have to deal with a spoiled princess who can only be a damsel in distress.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Hm… Nee-san, what do you think of Akeno?</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">[If you meant it as her being a candidate to be Yuuji-kun’s future wife, then I believe she is better than Rias.]
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Yeah, I think so too…</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">Unlike Rias, Akeno had more drive to be stronger. The reason why she’s not training as much as she could was because Rias was holding her back. Moreover, she also couldn’t utilize her full strength due to her hatred towards her father.
<span style="font-weight:400">Once that hatred is resolved and she’s free from her shackles, then she could easily be a powerhouse in the supernatural world.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Also, isn’t she a shrine maiden~? Ufufufu~ It would be fun to role y with her being a shrine maiden~</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">[Ara ara~ Ufufufu~ You’re such a naughty girl, Aika-chan~]
<span style="font-weight:400">Aika giggled inwardly. There’s no use worrying over them since they’ll call her again to talk about her encounter with the fallen “yesterday”, so she simply made her way to her ss.
<span style="font-weight:400">sses passed by quickly. With the help of [Great Sage], her academic capabilities have skyrocketed to the top. Even without having to pay attention, she could simply ask [Great Sage] to help her during tests and she’ll get a perfect score.
<span style="font-weight:400">So, instead of paying attention to ss, she browsed the Chat Group Store to see what kind of interesting stuff was there to past time.
<span style="font-weight:400">Soon, lunch break came, and as she expected, Akeno came to her ss to call her again.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Aika-san~ May I have a bit of your time after school~?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“U-Uwoooh! Akeno-senpai is here again!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“How lucky! Seeing two sexy beauties at the same time gives me energy to go through the rest of the day!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“...”
<span style="font-weight:400">Two of the three Trio Perverts immediately made a scene with their remarks. While the one other member of their trio couldn’t help but feel nervous since she knew what the president wanted to talk about with her. He could still remember the bloody scene from yesterday, and even until now, he couldn’t believe that Kiryuu Aika caused it.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Eh? Uhm… May I know the reason? I’m sorry to say this, but my decision hasn’t changed since thest time we talked.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Aika feigned ignorance, which Akeno was well aware of. But even then, Akeno still kept a friendly smile.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I understand. But the president wishes to talk to you about another matter. So will you pleasee by to our club room after school?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“...I understand.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Thank you very much~ Then, I will look forward to this afternoon~”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes. See you soon, senpai.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Akeno left after giving Aika a beautiful, wide smile, and Aika immediately contacted Yuuji to tell him what’s going on as she made her way to the cafeteria with her friends.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ah! Oi Aika, how can you message your boyfriend while you’re with us? Are you trying to make us jealous?!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kataseined with a pout. Here she was fantasizing about her boyfriend and using the selfies Aika gave her as her “side dish” for her nightly “exercise”, while Aika could have her all to herself whenever she wants. How could she unt her boyfriend while they’re here!
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’m not~ I just wanted to tell him that I’ll probably go homete today.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“E-Eh?! A-Are you living with him?!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Murayama eximed in shock. They’re still in highschool, so how could she already move in with her boyfriend?!
<span style="font-weight:400">But then, she recalled that her boyfriend was also rich. So could it be that… he had already bought a house for them to live together?!
<span style="font-weight:400">“No I’m not. I just had a promise with him this afternoon. But since I’m called by Gremory-senpai and Himejima-senpai, then we’ll have to postpone it until tonight.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“T-T-Tonight…? W-What are you going to do?”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">A myriad of dirty thoughts shed across their minds. After all, if they were his girlfriend, then they would definitely spend every second of their free time with him to be lovey dovey and do dirty things with each other.
<span style="font-weight:400">And seeing their reactions, Aika couldn’t help but smile teasingly and winked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That’s a secret~”
<span style="font-weight:400">““!!!””
<span style="font-weight:400">The two kendo girls froze as their faces turned red in an instant.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Well, I’ll just be chatting with Yuuji all night, but they can fantasize about me being railed by him too~</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">She giggled inwardly and continued to make her way to the cafeteria, leaving the two frozen until they caught up with her.
<span style="font-weight:400">They’re both silent now, fantasizing about the kind of things Aika would be doing with her boyfriend tonight. And while they did that, Aika sent a message to Yuuji.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiryuu Aika: “Hey, Yuuji~! What are you doing~?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tsubakihara Yuuji: “Hm? I’m at home now. I just finished talking to my family about the Chat Group.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiryuu Aika: “Oh? How did they take it?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tsubakihara Yuuji: “They were shocked, for sure. But they have no choice but to believe it since I gave Mira the Potion of Eternal Beauty. She became even more beautiful overnight, so they had no choice but to believe.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiryuu Aika: “Oh really~ Send me a pic!!! I want to see what my future mother-inw / sister looks like~”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tsubakihara Yuuji: “...I’ll send it to youter. Anyway, what’s up? Considering the time… You should be in school now, right?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiryuu Aika: “Uhn! It’s lunch right now. And Akeno-senpai just came to talk to me.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tsubakihara Yuuji: “Akeno… So they’re calling for you now, huh…?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiryuu Aika: “Mm, they must’ve noticed that I beat that fallen guy up “yesterday”. Also… I think they also sensed the immense magic power I’m emitting.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tsubakihara Yuuji: “Ah, that’s right… We got an immense Psion Count as a reward from the mission. It must’ve been converted into an immense magic power in your world.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tsubakihara Yuuji: “Are you okay? Will you be fine? If you don’t think you will, or if you sense danger, then escape immediately by going to Tatsuya’s world and call me. I’ll meet you there.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Aika let out a smile as she read his message. And unbeknownst to her, the two kendo girls by her side were watching with pure jealousy and envy.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiryuu Aika: “Mm, thank you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tsubakihara Yuuji: “For now… do you want to talk about this with the group and get their opinion? Now that you’ve shown your capabilities to them, they’ll want more answer from you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiryuu Aika: “Yes. I’d love that. Let’s move to Group Chat.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Aika then exined her current situation, including the attack from the fallen angel, to the group.
<span style="font-weight:400">Chiba Erika: “Eh? Did you really encounter a fallen angel? Like, the one from the myths?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiryuu Aika: “Mm! Fallen, devils, and angels exist in my world, as well as various other mythical creatures. Though, they mostly live hidden from regr humans.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Chiba Erika: “Heeeeh, that’s pretty interesting…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiryuu Aika: “You should go watch High School DxD from the file Yuuji shared here! It’s an anime about my world!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Chiba Erika: “Alright, will do!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Lelouch Lamperouge: “If I’m not mistaken, that Rias girl has a familiar, am I right? Considering her personality, I believe she must be spying on you with her familiar to try and catch a glimpse of your abilities and perhaps even extract some information about us, the group you mentioned to her.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiryuu Aika: “Eh?! Really? Damn… I didn’t notice at all…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tsubakihara Yuuji: “That’s before you have Elemental Sight and still new to magic, after all. And when you activate your ne that you enchanted with the Anti Magic Zone spell, her connection with her familiar must’ve been cut off.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Lelouch Lamperouge: “Indeed. Then she either waited for her connection with her familiar to be back or went to the site of the attack in person.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiryuu Aika: “Wait, but couldn’t she teleport? If she wanted to see the fight, she could just teleport right?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Lelouch Lamperouge: “Hm… If she did try to teleport, then the fact that she didn’t appear before you might prove that the effects of your ne hinders teleportations as well. If so, then this would be useful information to know.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Chiba Erika: “Wow… There’s teleportation magic too? That’s crazy…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiryuu Aika: “I see… If it’s true, then it is certainly very useful to know. Erika-chan, your ne might be able to do that too since it’s basically an upgraded version of mine!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Chiba Erika: “I’d love to test it, but there’s no way to do it in this world. There’s no teleportation magic, after all…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiryuu Aika: “You can try it when youe to my worldter on!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Chiba Erika: “Mm. I’ll do so.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Aika then continued the main topic of conversation.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kiryuu Aika: “Then, what do you think you guys should do? Sage-neesan thankfully concealed 70% of the magic I’m emitting, but I still showed them that I have magic power that I didn’t have just the day before.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tsubakihara yuuji: “...Sage-neesan?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Lelouch Lamperouge: “Pretend you did everything on purpose.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Aika’s eyes widened when she saw Lelouch’s message.
<span style="font-weight:400">“...Huh?”