Silence once again enveloped the forest.
Moonlight began to gently illuminate the surroundings that had moments ago been cloaked in darkness.
Of course, for two reincarnated devils, everything was as clear as day.
Daniel yawned, exhausted, as he dismissed his Duel Disk. He was truly worn out. The gray energy consumption required to keep Duel Monsters active was no joke—the energy drained constantly as long as they remained summoned.
He had tried summoning higher-level and stronger monsters, but the energy cost was far beyond what he could manage for now.
"I almost died…" he muttered, remembering.
Thankfully, defeating enemies counted as duels, so hunting stray devils slightly increased his Duel Energy reserves.
"Does the system consider dying the same as hitting zero Life Points?" he thought, frowning in confusion as he walked over to Akeno, who was already preparing a teleportation circle.
Akeno watched him murmur with a serious, thoughtful look. Silently, she pondered how to make him show more expressions; until now, she hadn't managed to truly fluster him.
A playful smile curved her beautiful lips—she had just gotten an idea.
Daniel, unsuspecting, approached her, waiting for her to activate the spell.
"Ahhh, I'm so tired… Be a good Kouhai and let me lean on you for a bit," she said softly as she pressed her body against his, resting her head on his shoulder and whispering in his ear,
"Fufufu~ Did you get excited, Kouhai-kun~?"
Daniel froze. As a devil, his senses were heightened, and having her this close was overwhelming—he could feel her warmth, her scent, the soft weight of her voluptuous body pressed against his.
Akeno laughed quietly when she noticed him trembling and saw the tips of his ears turn red.
"Akeno-senpai, those jokes are—"
Before he could finish, Akeno activated the teleportation circle, and both vanished in a flash of light, reappearing inside the Occult Research Club room.
---
Red light filled the room as two silhouettes took form.
Rias, seated at her desk, raised an eyebrow in surprise when she saw them arrive still half-embraced.
Akeno met her gaze with a mischievous smile before releasing Daniel and taking a step back.
"I'll be looking forward to our next outing, Kouhai-kun~," she murmured playfully before walking over to Rias's side.
Daniel shook his head, trying to calm himself down as he watched her leave.
Koneko, sitting on the couch, stared at Akeno for a few seconds before calling Daniel to sit beside her.
Rias and Akeno began whispering to each other. Daniel decided to ignore it—he was sure they were talking about him, and he didn't want to hear their teasing.
Instead, he focused on Koneko, who offered him another one of her desserts. Daniel felt a pang of guilt; he hadn't made anything for her in days. He'd been too busy "training" and studying his powers.
Lost in thought, he watched Koneko as she happily bit into her yokan, her soft lips glistening under the light.
"I want a bite," Daniel thought… though he wasn't exactly referring to the food.
"Something wrong?" Koneko asked.
Daniel quickly looked away, trying to calm himself.
What was wrong with him? He felt guilty for even thinking that way about his friend.
"It's Akeno-senpai's fault…" he muttered. If she hadn't gotten so close, he wouldn't be thinking such weird things.
"Do devils have mating seasons?" he wondered, half-seriously considering asking Kiba about it. It wouldn't be surprising, considering Akeno's behavior… and now, his own.
Unaware of Daniel's inner turmoil, Koneko shifted a little closer. She felt oddly uneasy after seeing Akeno hug him earlier.
Daniel, meanwhile, grew even more flustered at the proximity of the petite girl. He could no longer see her the same way—his eyes, almost instinctively, wandered over her face, her neck… her legs.
Daniel shook his head violently, stood up, and sat on another couch. Pulling out his phone, he tried to distract his confused mind.
"Is Issei's perversion contagious?" he thought before opening his chat with Asia.
He had met her again earlier that week. Daniel was surprised that the Fallen Angels allowed her so much freedom, though his resentment toward them hadn't lessened at all.
Since Asia mentioned she couldn't call him, they had decided to buy her a phone so they could keep in touch. Since then, they'd been messaging or calling each other often. Daniel took every opportunity to try and convince her to join them.
He opened their chat and began scrolling through the messages:
• Daniel: Asia, how are you doing? Want to go somewhere tomorrow? I'm taking a break.
• Asia: I'm not sure… they gave me something to do today, and I don't know if I'll be free tomorrow :(
• Daniel: That's a shame…
Asia hadn't replied after that.
"Who are you... talking to?" Koneko asked, who at some point had stood up and sat beside him again.
Daniel hesitated for a moment before replying.
"With Asia. She's a friend I met a few days ago," he said, giving her a brief glance.
Koneko went quiet, then took the dessert she'd offered him and ate it herself.
Daniel noticed the faint irritation in her expression. Worried—thinking she might've realized he'd been looking at her weirdly—he tried to make it up by awkwardly offering her all sorts of sweets.
Rias watched the scene with a gentle smile. She was glad to see Koneko showing more emotion lately, and Daniel too.
She didn't know if it was because of what he'd lived through before being reincarnated—his fight with stray devils or the death of his family, which Rias had discovered while investigating him—but she had often found him melancholic and distant.
Seeing them act like normal teenagers was comforting.
However, her smile gradually faded, replaced by a serious expression.
"Longinus…" she murmured.
She had just received the information she requested from her brother.
After hearing her report about Daniel, Sirzechs had recalled a very rare Sacred Gear.
Although there were differences, he suspected it might be the Annihilation Maker—a gear capable of creating demonic beasts—similar to how Daniel could "summon" creatures using his cards.
Sirzechs believed the differences were due to the mutation Rias had mentioned.
As for Issei, they were surprised as well: according to the data, his Sacred Gear was the Boosted Gear.
Two Longinus.
Rias felt a little dizzy at her strange luck—reincarnating both of them on the same day.
Even so, she couldn't help but worry: Daniel was progressing rapidly, but Issei…
While he seemed motivated and was trying hard to secure contracts, there hadn't been any significant improvement in his use of the Sacred Gear.
"Should I let him hunt alongside Daniel?" she wondered, not realizing she no longer saw Daniel as a beginner, but as someone on Koneko and Kiba's level.
Unaware of Rias's thoughts—or of the new misunderstanding surrounding his "system"—Daniel had just finished making an agreement with Koneko while Akeno served tea.
Suddenly, Rias's anxious voice broke the calm.
"Get ready to move. Issei's in danger. Akeno, call Kiba—no, there's no time. Let's go."
Akeno nodded and quickly began preparing the teleportation spell as Daniel and Koneko stood up from the couch.