"Tell me, Rias… is the real reason you're so eager to recruit me... so you can cancel your engagement?"
Yuu said that while gently patting the little vampire's head beside him.
The girls stopped moving their chopsticks.
Even Yue, who was still chewing slowly, raised an eyebrow. She soon stopped thinking as she enjoyed his caresses.
Rias blinked.
"You knew?"
"A few things."
Of course, he didn't go into detail. Not like he was lying either, he did know.
Rias lowered her gaze. It was the first time she didn't seem confident. Her fingers played with the edges of her napkin.
"Yeah… I've got an arranged marriage. It's a decision between the Gremory clan and the Phenex clan."
The names of both clans made Yuu nod to himself.
Even though he didn't remember much, if he pushed his brain a little, like with names, he could recall a few things.
"I'm supposed to marry Riser Phenex soon. The date's way too close already. So I'm looking for someone who can help me break the engagement."
Her voice sounded strained. It was pretty clear she was trying to stay calm, but couldn't hide her discomfort.
Yuu didn't find it strange. It was the same development he'd seen in the anime.
Rias had a forced marriage coming up, and she recruited Issei to help her break it.
But…
'If she's inviting me now, that means she hasn't met Issei yet.'
Which changed a lot.
Yuu crossed his arms and looked at her intently.
"You know, you don't need someone to come rescue you."
"Huh?"
"You've got all the potential to fix it yourself. You're not just the sister of the current Lucifer, you've also got the power of destruction. Don't you?"
Rias opened her mouth, but Sona beat her to it. Just then, the light from the window reflected off her glasses, giving them a sharp glint.
"Potential, huh? That'd be true… if Rias didn't spend half her time in the human world watching anime and reading manga. Oh, and wasting time on Instagram late at night."
"Sona!" Rias whipped her head around, crossing her arms under her boobs with an obviously wounded expression. "Don't say unnecessary things!"
Yuu was amused.
"So it is true?"
"Well…" Rias cleared her throat and looked at him. "Maybe I've been a little lazy. But it's too late now. The wedding's really close, and I don't have time to get stronger anymore."
Yuu stayed quiet. He understood that thought all too well.
Because…
'That "I will start tomorrow"... I've seen it too many times.'
Putting things off until it's too late. People living in fear of failure. Wondering "what if I try and I can't?" and choosing not to try at all.
After millions of years, he'd seen too many versions of that story.
"Fufu~" Akeno leaned over the table a bit, smiling. "Since she's an otaku, I bet Buchou was hoping some prince on a white horse would come save her."
"A-Ah! Akeno!" Rias looked at her, and her cheeks gradually turned as red as her hair. "Don't say dumb stuff in front of him!"
"Ara, did that bother you so much?"
"Of course it did! And I don't like the way you're saying it either!"
Yuu watched the two with a faint smile.
While the girls bickered, Yue took another bite of rice.
"…Mm~"
The food Yuu made was the real priority for the gluttonous vampire.
Rias narrowed her eyes, resting her cheek on one hand as she let out a sigh.
"You'd better ignore what those two women are saying."
Yuu smiled slightly.
"Impossible. With girls this beautiful, how could I possibly ignore them?"
There was half a second of silence. Then…
"Ara~." Akeno was the first to react. Her smile turned even sweeter as she tilted her head. "How charming, Yuu-kun. If you keep talking like that, you're gonna make me blush~."
Meanwhile, Sona, who just wanted to tease Rias, froze for a moment.
"…Hm."
Her eyes, always serious and sharp, widened just enough for the effect to be noticeable. And a faint red tint appeared on her cheeks.
"I guess you've gone back to being that annoying version of yourself from when we first met, Izumi-kun." There was a satisfied smile on her lips. "Though you see, Rias… even he prefers our company."
"H-huh?!" Rias blinked, a dark shadow falling across her face. Her ahoge swayed above her head like it, too, was offended.
It really felt like everyone in the room had conspired against her.
"Tch… everyone's against me…"
Yuu let out a light chuckle before refilling his glass of tea.
"Back to the point. Rias, I've got a solution to your problem."
Hearing those words, Rias' eyes flew wide open.
"R-really? What kind of solution?"
She leaned forward with a hopeful expression.
'…Well, that was fast.'
×××
"Izumi-kun, according to what Tsubaki told me, you mentioned wanting to take care of a few stray devils. First of all, I need to thank you for volunteering for something like that, but… can I ask why you're interested in facing them?"
The reason Sona had decided to visit Yuu's house that morning was actually pretty simple.
After her Queen, Tsubaki, mentioned that Yuu had shown interest in hunting stray devils, Sona figured it was better to discuss the matter with him personally.
Even though they could've talked about it at school, it seemed the Student Council President thought it more appropriate to visit him at home to clear up some details about the stray devils and the locations where their hideouts had been reported.
"Ah, it's nothing special. I just thought it'd be a good workout. Besides…" Yuu turned to Yue, who was quietly watching Sona with a calm expression, "I also think it'd be a good chance for Yue to test out her abilities."
"Hold on a second."
The casual way Yuu spoke about the stray devils didn't go unnoticed by Sona.
"Are you saying you plan to use the stray devils for training?"
"Yeah. They're weak enough not to be a problem, but they'll at least help Yue get used to fighting again."
After all, Yue might be rusty after being confined in the Abyss for hundreds of years.
Though, honestly, he was probably giving stray devils way too much credit.
Considering Yue was now directly linked to him as an Emanator, facing them wouldn't be any different than wasting time. It'd probably be better to arrange some real training between the two of them.
For a regular devil, stray devils were dangerous enemies. Even if they weren't as strong as high-class devils, they still posed a considerable threat to most fighters.
That's why devils took these cases seriously, and any stray was usually executed on sight.
But Yuu spoke about them like they were just annoying bugs.
And that really was what Yuu thought.
To him, stray devils were nothing more than a bunch of insignificant ants.
He didn't feel the slightest bit excited at the thought of facing them, since massacring such weak enemies was just plain boring. Still, he'd gone along with the idea because he wanted Yue to test the limits of her new powers. They could train together later anyway.
Yue, for her part, didn't say anything about it, but she did give a small smile. For her, anything that meant spending time with Yuu was a win.
If Sona, or any of the other girls present, could've heard what Yuu was really thinking, they'd probably have wanted to smack him.
"Alright. If you're really set on this, I can give you information on the latest locations of the stray devils. You can contact us if anything goes wrong."
Realizing that arguing with Yuu wouldn't get her anywhere, she gave up trying to change his mind.
After they wrapped up the conversation, Sona handed Yuu a map of Kuoh City with the spots where stray devils had recently been identified.
"Thanks for the info. We'll take care of it soon."
"I hope you're not underestimating what you're getting into," Sona said in a serious tone. "Although, knowing you… you probably already are."
Yuu let out a quiet laugh at her remark.
×××
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