Chapter 49 – A Conversation Between Rias and Sona
Inside the Student Council room at Kuoh Academy, Sona Shitori glanced at the group that had arrived unusually early.
Her eyes landed on a blonde girl standing awkwardly behind Rias—a face she didn't recognize.
"Rias, is she… a new member of your peerage?"
"Something like that," Rias replied nonchalantly. "But she hasn't formally accepted my offer yet."
"Hasn't accepted?" Sona raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you got rejected again."
Her gaze flicked briefly to Asia, the shy blonde girl, but her thoughts wandered somewhere else entirely—to Shin Akira.
That boy had already turned down recruitment offers from both her and Rias more than once. Especially Rias, whose track record of rejections had begun to outpace her own.
Sona had already given up trying. Rias had since turned her attention to other Sacred Gear wielders.
"Don't say 'again' like I get rejected all the time," Rias shot back, clearly annoyed.
"Sorry, it slipped out," Sona replied with a composed smile tugging at her lips.
Rias let out a sigh and motioned to Asia. "This is Asia. A candidate for my peerage. I need you to process her enrollment. She'll be in the same class as Koneko-chan."
"Understood."
Sona didn't press further. Instead, she opened her desk drawer and retrieved a student registration form.
"Name, age, place of origin…"
"My name is Asia Argento. I'm fifteen years old. From Northern Europe. I used to be a nun, but now—"
"That's enough, Asia."
Rias quickly cut her off before she could reveal too much. It wasn't a dark secret, but there was no need to offer unnecessary details to others.
"…A former nun?" Sona frowned slightly. "Rias, are you serious?"
"She's already been excommunicated by the Church. Her background won't be an issue anymore."
"In that case, fine. Just make sure it doesn't come back to haunt us."
"I'm aware."
Sona filled out Asia's information quickly and slid the form into a folder. For them, this was all just formalities.
Unlike normal students, those connected to the supernatural world didn't require official government documentation.
"Tsubaki, please escort her to pick up her uniform and textbooks. After that, take her to Koneko's class."
"Yes, Kaichou."
Tsubaki Shinra, who had been quietly standing by the wall, nodded in acknowledgment.
"Follow me," she said to Asia.
"Y-Yes…"
With a mix of nervousness and awe, Asia followed Tsubaki out of the room. They would head to the supply room to get her new student essentials. From there, she'd meet her homeroom teacher and be introduced to her class.
It was a smooth, behind-the-scenes process—one of the perks of having powerful connections in elite circles.
Once the two of them were gone, Sona turned back to Rias.
"So… how's that other matter going?"
"…What other matter?"
"Who else? Shin Akira. How's the recruitment going?"
Sona set down her pen and looked at Rias seriously. She still remembered—she was the first one who spotted Akira's potential.
But after being turned down so many times, she eventually gave up.
"I've already given up," Rias admitted quietly. "Someone like him… he'll never bow to anyone."
"…You? Giving up? Are you sure you're the real Rias? The one I know never quits so easily."
"You remember the rule, don't you? In the Evil Piece system, a King can only reincarnate someone weaker than themselves."
Sona paused, her expression tensing. "Don't tell me… his power already surpassed yours?"
"It has," Rias answered plainly. "He broke through his limits—right in front of me. There's no doubt anymore."
"Sixteen years old… and already at Ultimate-Class? And he's still human? That's… absurd."
Sona sat back, visibly shaken.
But if Rias had really given up, then it made sense.
One of the fundamental laws of the Evil Piece system was that Devils couldn't reincarnate beings significantly more powerful than themselves. If the power gap was too great, the ritual simply failed.
A long time ago, one of the Five Great Dragon Kings—Tannin—had managed to become a Devil via Evil Piece reincarnation. But such cases were exceptionally rare.
Tannin only accepted Devil Reincarnation to protect his species—dragons that could only survive on Dragon Apples from the Underworld. That land became his territory after he swore loyalty to Mephisto Pheles, one of the legendary Devils and a Queen Piece-class powerhouse.
That level of deal-making was only possible for someone like Mephisto, who had the strength to reincarnate a Dragon King.
Now, with Akira at Ultimate-Class level, it was clear—Rias could never recruit him.
"You said he broke through in front of you. Were you two… fighting?"
"No. He killed a Fallen Angel that had been stationed in Kuoh. The fight caught the attention of Azazel himself. Akira was severely injured in that battle, but after he recovered, his power skyrocketed."
"Wait—Azazel was in Kuoh?!"
Rias didn't mention that she had once lost to Akira. Not out of pride, but because the memory still stung.
Even at full strength, wielding the Power of Destruction, she had been defeated by a boy recovering from a serious injury.
She wasn't ready to relive that humiliation.
"Kuoh is becoming more and more chaotic…"
Sona rubbed her temples, overwhelmed by the wave of new information.
The current rogue devil hunt in Kuoh had been entrusted entirely to Akira. And in such a short time, so many major events had occurred—without her even realizing.
If she knew that Akira had battled Vali, the White Dragon Emperor, just last night… she would've likely questioned her entire understanding of reality.
Luckily, that battle had taken place in a remote location, and both fighters had taken care to avoid collateral damage. As a result, few even knew it had happened.
"So now that you've given up on recruiting him, what's your next move? I heard the third son of the Phoenix family just won another Rating Game. His popularity is soaring."
"Hmph. I'm never marrying him."
"That's not your choice. This is an engagement between two great houses. You don't have the right to refuse."
"You're wrong. Now, I do."
"…Don't tell me…"
"Yes. It's exactly what you're thinking."
"…You really are something, Rias."
"Rather than marry some spoiled noble boy who only flaunts his family name, I'd rather choose a man of my own. Even if it's a mistake, at least it'll be mine."
"That's a gamble."
"It is. But life is a gamble, Sona. I'm not like you."
"…Just don't regret it."
Sona looked at Rias with a quiet intensity.
As someone who had also defied fate and rejected an arranged marriage herself, she understood just how heavy such a decision could be.
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