Until I reveal the name of the original protagonist, I can't start the story from his perspective. So, Issei will be the main focus for the next two chapters. While DxD progresses through the viewpoints of several characters, Kusei primarily handles the first-person narration. There will be times in the future when the story shifts to Issei's perspective again, but after these two chapters, Kusei's point of view will take center stage.
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Yo, I'm Issei!
Second year at Kuoh Academy, member of the Occult Research Club!
When it comes to perverted stuff, I won't lose to anyone - I'm a guy whose only redeeming quality is having a bit more guts than most people.
For my dream of creating a harem, I worked my ass off to get into Kuoh Academy, which used to be an all-girls school until recently so it has a high ratio of female students. I made up for the difference in test scores with pure perverted ambition and got in about a year ago. Along with my bad friends Matsuda and Motohama, I'm now a second-year student still complaining about not being popular at all. But now it looks like my harem dream might actually come true!
Why, you ask? You think harems are impossible in Japan? Heh heh heh, that's where you're wrong.
Actually, I became a devil.
Apparently this world has devils, angels, fallen angels, and all sorts of gods from various mythologies, monsters, and even vampires.
And devils are in a three-way war with gods and fallen angels, still glaring at each other and having small skirmishes even now. Apparently all the factions took massive damage, so they're holding back on full-scale total war because of that.
And devils were reduced to near extinction. All four Great (Maos) Demon Lords who led the devils died, so now it's become a hereditary system.
Since their numbers dropped drastically, devils created something called Evil Pieces to scout members from other races to become devils. And high-class devils who can have servants compete in something called Rating Games where they lead their servants in battle. If you do great there or achieve results in devil work, you can get promoted and become a high-class devil yourself, then you can have your own pieces.
And apparently it's possible to make all your servants female and create a harem. Actually, I've met a guy who seriously made a harem servant group. Dreams can come true!
By the way, reincarnated devils from humans are the most common. Humans and human hybrids can be born with powers called Sacred Gears that God gave to humans, so they mainly scout people like that.
But on the flip side, when they can't control it, fallen angels who research Sacred Gears judge them as dangerous and come to kill them. It's a pain in the ass, but really powerful Sacred Gears are seriously amazing, so I guess it can't be helped.
And I became a servant devil to Rias Gremory, the next head of the main branch of Gremory family whose brother is the current Demon Lord Lucifer.
Plus, among Sacred Gears, mine's super powerful - apparently it can even kill gods and Demon Lords. It's one of the Longinus, a Sacred Gear called the Boosted Gear where the Red Dragon Emperor Ddraig, one of the Two Heavenly Dragons that the three great factions cooperated to seal long ago, is sealed.
It's freaking amazing, you know? When I negotiated with Ddraig and temporarily became a pseudo-Longinus, I managed to somehow defeat Riser, a high-class devil stronger than President Rias.
Well, that's why fallen angels were wary of me and killed me though.
But at that time, I was carrying a flyer that devils distribute to find contract partners. And right before I died, I was thinking I wanted to see President Rias's boobs. And apparently that was an incredibly strong feeling.
As a result, President Rias was transported while holding her pieces, and thanks to the Boosted Gear, I was valued at eight pieces for my amazing potential, so I was able to reincarnate.
Things were pretty tough after that too. Even after becoming a devil, my magic power was lower than a kid's, so instead of teleportation for work, I had to go by bicycle. Plus I kept getting stuck with clients with strong personalities, so while I got high ratings like "that was fun," the actual jobs rarely succeeded.
Also, after that I became friends with a nun who was exiled from the church for healing devils - Asia Argento. Thanks to becoming a devil I could talk to her normally, but the fallen angel Raynare who killed me tried to kill Asia and steal her Sacred Gear to become a fallen angel executive herself, which was a huge mess. Since it was unauthorized action, I was able to borrow the President and others' power, but who knows what would've happened otherwise.
And after that, President Rias had a Rating Game with Riser to break off her engagement, and we somehow managed to get the engagement canceled.
At that time, President kissed me as a sign of gratitude! Man, it was the President's first kiss too - as a reward for working hard, it was the best!
After that, when President wanted to homestay at my place, that was seriously awesome too. Before that, Asia also said she wanted to homestay at my house, so now I'm sleeping sandwiched between two girls in bed!
Ah, but they were talking about bride training and stuff, so thinking that it'll end someday makes me want to cry. Dad and Mom were actually relieved about it, which is kinda harsh... I wonder how many more years I'll be able to take baths together with them.
But just before the recent sports festival ended, Kiba, one of Rias's servant companions, started acting weird.
Even before that, when everyone gathered at my house, it was triggered by a photo album Mom brought out. There was a photo with my childhood friend from before I moved when I was starting elementary school, and there was a holy sword in it. According to President Rias, the devil who was here before the President was apparently killed, and she said it made sense if there was a holy sword user.
Holy swords are one of the natural enemies of devils. They're among the strongest weapons used by the church's exorcists. But apparently they're picky about their users - there were even years when no one could use the particularly powerful Excalibur.
And Kiba was apparently a test subject in an experiment to artificially create Excalibur users.
But none of the test subjects including Kiba could become holy sword users. On top of that, the church people tried to kill Kiba and the others, calling them useless. When Kiba alone escaped, he was on the verge of death when the President happened to pass by and saved him.
...I thought this during Asia's situation too, but isn't the church pretty awful? I seriously think I'm glad to be a devil.
Well, there seem to be nasty guys among devils too. When I was crying tears over my harem, Riser kissed his servant right in front of me. Since he was worried about the President and saw me as a formidable enemy, and his sister seriously protected him, he seems like he's not that bad of a guy though.
And to make things worse, several guys from the church who have something that gives me chills, like holy sword users, came saying they have business with the President who manages this Kuoh Town.
And one of them is my childhood friend I mentioned earlier. Plus I thought he was a guy, but it turns out she's actually a girl - Shidou Irina.
Apparently they have business with the President, so we ended up talking like this, but…
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"I don't need any hospitality. Sorry, but I'm worried there might be something mixed into hospitality offered in a devil's territory. It'd be wasteful to throw it away anyway, right?"
"...What a way to put it. Do you think I would tarnish the Gremory name?"
The woman who sat on the sofa and said that first thing made President Rias's temple twitch.
She's already full of hostility. If you came to talk, couldn't you be a bit more friendly?
Well, Kiba standing behind the President like me is also glaring at the opponents with murderous intent, so I guess it can't be helped. But Kiba isn't glaring at that woman - he's glaring at Irina and the other one.
"Let me ask you the opposite - if you went into a church, would you think nothing was put in the drinks they served? Since it goes both ways, you should polish your vigilance if you can drink it without worry, right? ...And you there."
While responding to President Rias like that, the woman looks at me.
"...Have you been overseas or something? I've come to Japan many times for work, but this is my first time in the Kanto region, you know?"
"Ah, no, it's not that I recognized you - it's the opposite, because I didn't."
Ah. I was staring a bit because I didn't recognize her.
I met Irina with her chestnut hair in twin tails and the girl with short blue hair with green highlights yesterday when Irina came to my house.
From their perspective, they never imagined I'd become a reincarnated devil and that President Rias was even living there. Depending on the situation, we might have ended up fighting to the death right there.
But there wasn't anyone like this person at that time.
Chest as flat as Koneko's - seriously flat. Hair as white as Koneko's too, but long. And slightly slanted eyes.
At least she doesn't have the look of looking down on me like Raynare or Riser did when they saw me. If anything, it's more like when Riser fought me in Balance Breaker mode - she's looking at me as a threat.
Rather than directing hostility, looking down on me, or hating me, it feels like she's trying to figure out what kind of guy I am?
"...Ah. You're the childhood friend devil that Irina mentioned. I wasn't there at that time because I was securing temporary lodging."
Saying that, the white-haired person shrugged her shoulders.
"I was only chosen because I've been on missions with them several times, but I'm basically on a different team from Irina and Xenovia. Besides, a Japanese salaryman's house would be cramped if too many people came, right? So I held back."
Oh, she's considerate!
And the blue-haired one is called Xenovia.
While I was thinking that, the President cleared her throat lightly.
"...Are you done, Issei? I'd like to move the conversation forward soon."
"Ah, sorry."
So I stepped back, and the white-haired person bowed her head lightly while still sitting.
"Let me give a brief self-introduction. I'm Kazuhi Shichastie, dispatched from the Orthodox Church. Next to me are the Excalibur users who work as a combo - Shidou Irina and Xenovia."
...Excalibur, huh.
The moment he saw that, Kiba's killing intent increased considerably.
Hey, we can't fight right now, okay? You get that, right?
I was thinking that... wait a minute?
"Excalibur users... two of them?"
Huh? There's only one Excalibur, right?
When I tilted my head in confusion, Kazuhi made a puzzled face and immediately clapped her hands.
"Could it be you're a newbie? In that case, I should include that in the explanation too."
"That's right. I appreciate your consideration."
When the President nodded along with Kazuhi, she turned to face me.
"I mentioned a bit about when the three great factions were at war. At that time, the holy sword Excalibur was shattered into seven pieces."
Shattered into seven pieces?!
Seriously? Holy swords can break?
While I was surprised, Kazuhi took over the conversation.
"Well, in the Arthurian legends they say it was returned to the Lady of the Lake, but don't worry about that. The contents recorded in legends and the actual facts are different - if you think they're the same, devils and fallen angels would be the same existence, so there wouldn't be a three-way conflict."
Huh? Devils and fallen angels are treated as the same thing?
While I was a bit surprised, Kazuhi continued the conversation further.
"So Excalibur was reforged from the fragments, and seven exist. One is missing, but the remaining six are held by the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches - two each. ...And Irina is Protestant while Xenovia is Catholic."
"Well, this is what it looks like now."
Following Kazuhi, Xenovia showed off something big wrapped in cloth.
I've been feeling a dangerous aura this whole time, but if it's a holy sword and specifically Excalibur, that makes sense.
Rather, I'm glad there aren't a lot of holy swords at this level. Even at one-seventh, it's this intense...
"By the way, my Excalibur is the mimicry holy sword Excalibur Mimic! I usually keep it as a string, but I can freely change its shape like this♪"
And when Irina pulled the string on her shoulder, it turned into the shape of a Japanese sword!
Hey hey, I thought you didn't have one, but you were carrying it there?!
And Xenovia was looking at Irina with an exasperated expression.
"Irina. What are you doing showing our hand to devils?"
"Oh? If we don't show a little of our hand, they'll be suspicious instead. Besides, it's not like we'd lose just because our hand is known, right?"
"...That's just provocation, so please stop."
When Kazuhi said that to Irina, she sighed and bowed her head.
"I'm sorry. These girls are young, so they seem to have the wrong idea about justice."
...No, I think you saying "justice" so clearly is pretty much the same.
When I looked at her with an exasperated face, Kazuhi looked exasperated back.
"Let me tell you - in foreign countries, atheists are basically saying 'I can't show my own justice,' you know? Japan's common sense is the world's uncommon sense and vice versa. Don't think that island nation common sense is universal."
Huh, seriously?
I thought justice was something you decide for yourself, not from gods.
When I was a bit surprised, Kazuhi sighed and said clearly:
"Since it's a good opportunity, I'll tell Xenovia and Irina too. Justice isn't something you wave around because you think you're right - it's something you use to discipline yourself to be that way. At the same time, since it's also social convention about 'how things should be,' if you're going to talk about justice, you should direct it strictly at both others and yourself."
After saying that, Kazuhi took a breath.
"...So, of the Excaliburs that the church possesses, half of them - three - were stolen by fallen angels."
Huh, seriously?!
I mean, from what I can see, Excalibur seems as dangerous as my Boosted Gear, right?
To steal three of these - what the hell is going on?!
President Rias was also surprised, but after breathing out a little, she looked straight at Kazuhi.
"Who's the culprit? And why does this involve us?"
"The culprit is Kokabiel, a top executive of the fallen angel oversight organization 'Grigori.' And for some reason, he seems to have fled to this Kuoh Town."
"...My territory certainly has abundant incidents."
The President pressed her temples and sighed.
No way. It's only been a few months since Raynare was hiding in this town.
I think Raynare was a mid-class fallen angel. And now a few months later, a top fallen angel executive? Why is this happening? That was supposed to be a small skirmish, so wasn't every faction supposed to avoid getting actively involved?!
"...Well, as a top fallen angel executive, he probably has considerable skill at hiding. Since the church also approves of disposing of those who can't control Sacred Gears, and you devils also basically stay hands-off about that, you shouldn't be ashamed of not noticing."
After Kazuhi said that, she sighed even more.
"Moreover, Kokabiel stole one each from the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches. Combined with fleeing to the territory of a Demon Lord's sister, it seems like the fallen angels want to intensify the three-way conflict between the three great factions."
"What a troublesome story. If the Demon Lords hear about this, they'll furrow their brows."
When the President answered like that, Kazuhi looked straight at her face.
Wh-what?
While we were confused and on guard, Kazuhi relaxed her shoulders just a little.
"...The higher-ups suspected cooperation between devils and fallen angels, but from your reaction, it seems at least you weren't informed. I don't think they'd move without telling the Demon Lord's sister anything, so devils are in the clear."
...Ah, I feel like the President and others are pretty angry.
I mean, they thought we were connected to Kokabiel?
No way that's possible. I've never even met the guy!
"...What a way to put it."