Sam's pulse hadn't slowed since the window blinked across his vision. Unquantifiable.
The three girls were still standing there, smiling like this was the most natural thing in the world. Students streamed past toward the buildings, not one of them giving a second glance.
Sam shoved his hands in his pockets, buying himself a second. "Alright," he said slowly. "You tracked down the cryptid. What now?"
Yuma Amano laughed softly, like she'd been waiting for the cue. "So you do know the nickname. Two weeks gone, and then you show up again with all the academy's beauties around you… people are bound to talk."
Sam raised a brow. "Cryptid's a hell of a promotion from 'transfer student.' Next thing I know, you'll be calling me Bigfoot."
Karuwana Aoi tilted her head, one eye half-hidden behind her dark hair. "Bigfoot gets stared at because he's a monster. You get stared at because no one can figure you out."
Minami Teru bobbed her head quickly, clutching her bag tighter. "It's true. Some said you'd dropped out… others thought you were sick. Then suddenly you come back, and…" She trailed off, cheeks coloring. "It's like you were never gone."
Sam snorted. "Rumors do the heavy lifting." He tilted his head, studying them. "Alright then. You found me. What's your impression?"
Minami's answer came first, quiet but sincere. "You don't… seem scary. Just… different."
Sam held her gaze for a moment. Nervous or not, she meant it. Out of the three, hers was the only thing that didn't feel rehearsed.
Karuwana crossed her arms, posture easy but her eyes sharp. "Different fits. People keep saying you don't act like anyone else here. Most guys would trip over themselves just to get noticed. You don't even look like you care."
Sam gave her a thin smile. "Care's expensive. Haven't found a reason to pay for it yet."
For just a heartbeat, her smirk faltered before sliding back into place.
Yuma leaned in slightly, her smile sugar-sweet, tone soft enough to blur the edges. "And that's why people are curious. You stand out, even when you're trying not to. I'd like to get to know you better, Sam."
Every alarm bell in his head went off. Too smooth. Too perfect.
The warning bell shrieked overhead.
Students surged toward the classrooms. The trio turned with the crowd, but Yuma looked back one last time, her smile lingering just a shade too long.
Minami meant it. Karuwana slipped. Yuma… she's the storm. And the System can't even put a number on her.
---
By the time the second chime rang, Sam was sliding into his seat.
Whispers erupted before he'd even settled.
"Didn't he disappear for two weeks?"
"Yeah, then he came back for, like, two days and missed another one."
"I saw him walking in with that blonde transfer this morning. Foreign, right? Italian?"
"That's not even the half of it. He's always around the Occult Research Club — Rias, Akeno, Koneko."
"And the Student Council too. I've seen him with Momo and Yura. Even the president once."
"Don't forget Tsubaki. She was with him the other day."
"And now those three new girls this morning? All smiling at him like they knew him already."
"…That's, like, what — ten? Eleven? How is that even possible?"
"He's not just a cryptid. He's some kind of playboy demon."
"What the fuck is this guy?"
Sam turned his head and let out a low chuckle, bitter around the edges.
Playboy demon, huh? Cute. I'm not chasing them — they're circling me like sharks. Devils by name, demons by nature. And I'm the chum in the water.
He leaned back in his chair, mask nailed on, letting the noise gnaw at itself.
The teacher glanced up from roll call, muttered something about him finally showing up, then waved it off. No lecture, no scolding. Just back to the lesson.
Which, of course, only made the whispers louder.
Playboy. Bad boy. Cryptid. They can't make up their minds, so I'm apparently all three at once.
Double digits, huh? Sure. Put up a scoreboard. Hand out trophies while you're at it.
Better a rumor than a target. Words can't bleed you dry. But the people behind them? Different story.
He tapped his pencil once against the desk, jaw tight, tuning the gossip out. His mind drifted back to the courtyard—Minami's nervous honesty, Karuwana's slip, Yuma's predator smile—and the word that wouldn't leave his head: Unquantifiable.
And somewhere beneath all that, another reminder: Tiche wasn't here. She'd stayed back at the hotel, shadow locked around the Excalibur fragment. The thing felt like a nuke even sitting still. Leaving it alone wasn't an option.
The classroom door slid open mid-period.
Every head turned as Akeno strolled in like she owned the place, a faint smile curling at her lips. She didn't ask permission. She didn't even acknowledge the teacher. She just glided to her seat beside Sam.
The whisper chain spiked instantly.
"Is that—Akeno?"
"She's sitting with him—why him?"
"What the hell is going on?"
Sam didn't look up from his notebook. "You're making this worse," he muttered.
"Am I?" Akeno tilted toward him, voice a silken whisper only he could hear. "Rias is handling Asia's paperwork. She'll be listed as a second-year—age-appropriate, neat, clean. Nothing suspicious."
Sam kept his eyes on the desk, pencil tapping. "Good."
"And…" She drew the word out, her smile sharpening. "She'll be attached to the Occult Research Club. Officially."
Sam stopped tapping. "Why is she joining ORC? I'm not even a member of ORC."
"You're already living with most of us," Akeno purred, eyes glinting. "Membership's just a formality at this point."
Sam rubbed the back of his neck, irritation creeping in. "Yeah, except the one person who isn't under my roof is your knight. Guess that's next on the checklist?"
Akeno's chuckle slid under the growing chorus of whispers, smooth and unbothered. She didn't answer.
"Great," Sam muttered. "I'm apparently in a club I never signed up for."
Akeno leaned just close enough for her hair to brush his shoulder, her smile never wavering. "Oh, Sam. You'd be surprised how many things you're already part of."
The whispers behind them only grew louder, buzzing like a hive. Sam hunched forward, trying to ignore both the class and the grin beside him.
---
The lunch bell rang, and Sam had no chance to slip away quietly.
Akeno rose with him, moving in step like it was planned. By the time they cleared the stairwell, Rias and Koneko were waiting, Asia clutching her bag like a lifeline. Kiba fell in with that effortless smile of his, and Momo trailed from the classroom, eyes darting like she wasn't sure if she belonged here or if she was about to be eaten alive.
When they walked into the cafeteria together, the noise dropped, then doubled.
"That's Rias, Akeno, and Koneko—the whole Occult Club."
"And the blonde transfer too. She's gorgeous."
"And Kiba. Of course."
"That's half the idol roster right there."
"Wait, isn't that Momo from Student Council?"
"…When did the cryptid join higher society?"
"He's sitting with them? This doesn't happen."
"Playboy demon. Has to be."
Sam's shoulders sagged. This isn't a lunch table. It's a stage. And apparently, I'm the headline act.
They sat. The stares didn't. If anything, the cafeteria leaned in closer.
Koneko settled beside Sam, shoulders brushing his without hesitation, cracking open her bento like nothing was unusual. Claim staked, no words needed.
Akeno noticed instantly. She leaned in just a little closer than necessary, her hair brushing Sam's arm as she opened her lunch, lips curved in amusement. If Koneko was marking territory, Akeno wasn't about to be outpaced.
Across from them, Asia blinked at the display, wide-eyed. Her hands clutched her chopsticks tight. How can they be so bold? she thought, cheeks flushing.
Rias sat straight-backed, movements elegant, every gesture deliberate. She kept her composure, the noble mask firmly in place. But her crimson eyes flicked once to Koneko and Akeno, narrowing faintly. They can act openly because they're not nobles. They don't carry reputations to protect. I… don't have that freedom. Not yet.
Kiba, polite smile unwavering, watched Sam in quiet measure. Not hostile, not overt, but protective—the silent knight judging the stranger in their midst.
Momo sat stiff at the edge of the table, torn between pride at her proximity to the idols and panic at the looks drilling into her back. When did Sam get this close to the Occult Club? I need to tell Sona. Maybe Yura. Student Council needs to get back on this before it gets out of hand.
Sam stabbed at his food, ignoring the proximity games, the stares, the whispers rattling the walls. He muttered under his breath, dry as ever. "Somebody better get me a second tray. One for food, one for the circus."
Rias looked up, lips tugging into the faintest smile. She didn't answer. She didn't need to. The cafeteria was doing the work for her.
---
The last bell sent Kuoh spilling into the streets, uniforms flashing past in groups of two and three. Sam stuck close to Asia as they made their way toward the academy's front gates. In his head, the route was already set: back to the hotel. Back to "living together," like Rias had promised, and like Akeno had teased him about all day.
There was no way the apartment was ready. Couldn't be. Not in one day.
Rias, Akeno, and Koneko joined them before they reached the gate, falling in step without a word. Sam didn't argue. They were friends, after all. But the knot in his chest pulled tighter. Space wasn't going to be his anymore, not really.
"We're headed back to the hotel," he said, more to Asia than to the devils.
"Not the hotel," Rias answered, her voice even.
Sam kept walking. Whatever she meant, he'd find out soon enough.
And then he did.
He stopped dead.
Where the old apartment block had been—bland concrete, narrow balconies, a place to sleep and nothing more—now stood a single residence. Bigger. Wider. A house that didn't belong here, wedged between city streets like it had been dropped in from somewhere else.
Asia gasped, hands clasping at her chest. "It's beautiful. It feels… safe."
Rias gestured toward it with quiet pride. "Rebuilt. Sturdier. Large enough for what comes next."
Sam folded his arms, staring at it. His voice came out low. "All this… in a day."
He shook his head slowly. "Not magic. Worse. You've got the world wired up like a puppet show, and I don't even want to know how many strings you're holding."
For once, there was no sarcasm. Just reluctant awe.
Rias's smile deepened, like she'd been waiting for him to see it.
Sam looked back at the building, jaw tight. "Power like that—terrifying. And impressive."
Asia's eyes still shone. Akeno's lips curved in quiet amusement. Koneko kept her silence.
Sam finally stepped forward with Asia beside him. The house loomed, too deliberate, too perfect, a Gremory foothold where his life used to be.
He didn't need anyone to explain it. He was in deeper now than ever.
-----
Alex here, thats all the chapters i currently have. I started work on the next one. Its CHUNKY because im trying to do a lot of things as we slide into a slight peaceful arc before Riser...