A few minutes later, the eyelids of the unconscious Issei twitched. The murmur of voices gradually reached his ears.
Issei felt like he was dreaming something strange.
—"Ara, Kouhai-kun is very big. Can I touch it?"
—"Daniel… it's warm."
—"I've never seen one like this, it's really amazing."
If he wasn't mistaken, those voices belonged to the girls from the club he had joined after becoming a devil.
—"Um… it seems I'm a little sensitive there. Don't touch so much."
A man's voice interrupted his thoughts.
What was happening? Was this a dream? If it was, shouldn't he be the protagonist? Another nightmare?
Alarmed, he lifted his head from the sofa where he had been lying and turned toward the voices.
—"What's… going on?"
In front of him, the girls were gathered around a half-naked Daniel, stroking his… wing?
Rias turned when she saw him sit up.
—"Ise, you're awake. Do you feel any discomfort?"
Issei just shook his head, dumbfounded, as he watched Rias resume her "investigation."
---
Daniel felt exhausted. Ever since he revealed his wings, they had asked him to go through all kinds of tests: stretching them, folding them, wrapping his body with them, resisting cuts —courtesy of Kiba and his sword—, resisting magic, with Akeno striking him with lightning, and resisting physical strength, taking a punch from Koneko.
That last test left an impression on him: he never would have imagined those small fists could deal such damage. If not for the resilience of his wings and Koneko holding back, he was sure he would have been sent flying like Issei. Finally, after several minutes, he managed to sit down and drink some tea.
From her seat, Rias murmured:
—"They're large… a draconic form? Resistant to cuts and blows. Medium resistance to magic. Is it because of the Sacred Gear?"
Daniel tried to shrink into his seat while slipping on his shirt. Being scrutinized so closely while half-naked unsettled him, even if his observers were beautiful women… and Kiba. Besides, getting electrocuted hadn't been pleasant.
Rias nodded and stood up.
—"Good. With these tests and the information on your abilities, I'm sure it's a Sacred Gear. A rather special or mutated one."
Daniel tilted his head in confusion. "Isn't it because of the system?" he thought. But seeing Rias so convinced, he simply nodded.
He decided not to contradict her. If they wanted to believe his power came from a Sacred Gear and that saved him trouble, so be it.
---
The meeting seemed to be coming to an end. They had welcomed the newcomers, listened to Rias's explanations, solved certain mysteries, experimented with abilities, and eaten… muffins?
Despite the setbacks, Rias considered it a productive first meeting. She had managed to better understand her new servants and hoped they would soon adapt to their new lives as devils.
Issei, for his part, enjoyed the experience: interacting with beautiful women and discovering hidden powers was more than pleasant.
Daniel, exhausted, only wanted to go home.
But unfortunately, that didn't seem possible.
Rias walked to her desk, where piles of small papers were stacked in several heaps.
—"Alright, you two will have to hand these out." She lifted one of the papers. "You recognize them, right?"
Daniel nodded. Thanks to one of those flyers he had met Koneko. They were magic circles for summoning devils. Issei nodded as well.
—"It's simple: we look for people with great greed and give them these. Then they can summon us, we sign a contract depending on what they want and what they offer," Rias explained.
Daniel was surprised. He didn't consider himself a greedy person.
Rias continued her explanation about nobility, promotions, and the possibility of rising through the demon aristocracy. Issei seemed excited, mumbling "harem king" under his breath as he tucked away his share of flyers.
Daniel, on the other hand, showed little interest. He was grateful to Rias and the others for saving him by reincarnating him as a devil, but he had never wanted to become one, nor did he have any particular motivation. To him, the task was just "extra work."
With a sigh, he took his portion of flyers and got ready to leave. As he turned, he looked at the cute girl on the sofa and thought: "If I offered her more sweets, could I convince her to hand them out?"
As if reading his mind, Rias intervened:
—"This is your first assignment as devils; you have to do it yourselves."
Daniel felt as if she was looking right at him.
—"And don't forget to come back before midnight. I have another assignment for you," she added.
Daniel sighed, tired. "More work," he thought.
---
Handing out the flyers turned out to be harder than expected—at least for Daniel. Issei, however, returned with an empty bag and in high spirits.
Rias watched them for a moment. Issei kept his distance from Daniel and, by his attitude, seemed uncomfortable being near him.
Rias was puzzled. Was it because of the owl's attack? Or some other reason? She didn't want problems arising within her peerage.
She had two contracts reserved for Koneko, so she had planned to give one to each of them. But seeing them like this, she decided to send them together.
When they heard this, Daniel simply nodded, while Issei grimaced.
They gathered in the center of the room, where Akeno had prepared a teleportation magic circle meant to send them to the potential contractor. Both stepped into the circle, which glowed crimson before fading. But they were still standing there.
Apparently, they couldn't use magic yet.
—"Looks like you'll have to walk," Akeno said, touching her cheek.
Rias watched them until they left through the door. She hoped working together would help ease any tension between them.
---
The walk to the contractor's house was silent. Daniel was usually quiet; he only spoke when addressed, with the exception of Koneko.
Issei, for his part, still felt uneasy around Daniel. Not only had he woken up naked in the same bed as him, but his strange bird had also knocked him out, embarrassing him in front of Rias and Akeno. For that reason, neither of them said a word.