Chapter 74 ~ Second Meeting

Chapter 74 ~ Second Meeting Aika entered the candle-lit room of the Occult Research Club in the old school building once again. She was led to sit down on the couch and served a steaming cup of tea brewed by the vice president of the club. But unlike her previous visit, there was apparent tension and nervousness in the room. Isse, Kiba, and Koneko, who were sitting on the couch at the opposite side of the coffee table, were looking at her with a mix of nervousness and caution. Similarly, Rias, who was seated behind her large mahogany desk, and Akeno, who stood by her side, were also watching Aika closely. Those two appeared calm and composed, but having watched the anime and knowing their true personality, Aika knew they were anything but that. Even if she hadn’t seen or read “High School DxD”, she could easily notice that they were slightly sweating and very tense. On the other hand, Aika was completely calm. Thanks to the advice she got from her friends and her beloved Yuuji, she knew she had the upper hand. She had the information they wanted, and she could easily frame it to the way that would be advantageous to her. Aika let out a satisfied sigh after taking a sip of her tea and turned towards Rias with a smile. “Akeno-senpai mentioned there’s something you wish to talk about. May I know what it is, Rias-senpai?” “... I believe you know what I wish to talk about.” Rias narrowed her emerald eyes. They were unlike the ones that reflected absolute confidence and pride Aika saw during their first meeting. This time, they were filled with hesitation, nervousness, and wariness. Aika felt a bit bad for making her feel this way. In truth, she didn’t have any enmity towards Rias or the rest of her peerage. Of course, she disliked Rias’s lazy side. But apart from that, she was a genuinely caring person. A bit too prideful and spoiled for her own sake, but it was due to her upbringing. It wasn’t entirely her fault, but her father and her brother’s. Apart from Issei, who still got the gall to leer at her breasts and butt from time to time despite the situation, the rest of her peerages were nice people as well, so she wanted to get along with them if possible. It’s good to have a connection with Lucifer’s little sister and the heir of the Gremory Ducal household as well. But, she still needed to be firm and show her that she’s not someone she could easily use to her whim. Aika’s lips curled into a slight smirk as she looked at Rias teasingly. “I’m not sure what you want to talk about, Rias-senpai~ Please be more specific~” Despite the situation, her sultry voice, multiplied by her devilish charm and alluring figure, captivated every single person in the room. It was as if they were in the presence of a true succubus, even though they were simply human misunderstandings of female devils who performed sexual deeds as part of their devil’s contracts. But if succubi indeed existed, then the girl before them would be its queen. Rias quickly snapped out of her daze and narrowed her eyes even more. “You were attacked by a fallen angel yesterday.” “Ah, so you were watching, after all. Was it through your familiar?” Rias’s eyes along with her peerage members all widened in shock. She tried to hide her shock and her flinch when she heard Aika’s words, but it was all seen through by Aika’s keen sight. Seeing her smile, Rias knew that she was found out. Aika was... much sharper than she first expected. Originally, Rias thought that Aika just awakened her sacred gear, which changed her appearance drastically. But now... it seemed more likely that she had been hiding it all along instead. Both her true appearance and her immense magic power. But if so, why would she reveal it now...? “Hah... You’re right. But something happened when you are about to be attacked by that fallen. I lost connection to my familiar and we were unable to teleport in. And when we arrived at the scene, there was only devastation on the roads, fallen angel’s feathers, and their blood.” “Oh~? So you went to the scene immediately, huh? Were you worried about me~?” “Of course we are! We... We thought you had just awakened to your sacred gear. And we can’t let the fallen just do whatever they want in this town.” Aika didn’t need to have [Insight Proficiency] like Yuuji or Satoru to know that she was telling the truth. Even in the anime, Rias wore her heart on her sleeves. It was easy for her to tell if she was telling the truth or not. Well, not the entire truth. Aika also knew that Rias wanted to gain her trust and favor by helping her. “I see~ But there’s no need to worry about that, senpai~” Aika smiled brightly, baffling Rias and her peerage. “After all, I was the one who cut your connection with your familiar and prevented your teleportation.” ““W-What?!”” Their eyes all widened in shock as they looked at Aika baffled. Rias was particularly shocked. If she could do all that... then her mastery over magic must’ve been extremely high level, just like her magic power. “I see... But why would you deny our help? Even if you are powerful, wouldn’t it be better to have us help you?” “Ah, that’s because I don’t want to reveal my abilities to you yet~ After all, I still don’t know if we can trust you or not~ Well, I didn’t end up having to use any magic and just beat that guy with my fist~! Oh, I also held back so he’s still alive! I don’t want to get into trouble for killing a fallen in a devil’s territory, after all~” “Y-You didn’t use magic...?” “Nope~ Hehe, even though I look like this, I’m quite strong physically too, you know~ My boyfriend also compliments me on my stamina, if you know what I mean~” Aika winked, causing all the virgins in the room to blush, especially the pervert. They even forgot all about their shock and the fact that Aika defeated a fallen angel with pure physical strength for a moment. Rias tried to process her words for a moment. All the revelations about Aika’s power were obviously shocking. But what struck Rias the most was the fact that Aika didn’t trust her and her peerage. When she thought about it objectively, it was only obvious. She, herself, won’t just trust a mysterious person and group she knew nothing about a few days after meeting. But after watching Aika for a few days, she somehow... grew some sort of strange attachment towards her. Although they’ve only shared a few words, she felt as if she had grown close with her through watching her. So, when Aika said she didn’t trust her, Rias couldn’t help but admit that her heart stung a bit. “I see... That’s understandable.” “Hm? About my stamina~?” “Not that!!! About your trust! I understand why you wouldn’t want us to see your capabilities...” Rias tried her best to sound calm and composed, but even she, herself, could hear the twinge of disappointment in her voice. “Rias-senpai, I know there’s still little trust between us and your peerage. However, we have no intention of being your enemy. In fact, I’m more inclined to get along with you because all of you, except for Issei, seemed like good people.” “O-Oi, Aika! Why didn’t you include me?!” Aika turned to look at Issei, who was flustered by her words, weirdly. “...Do I need to say it to your face, pervert? Do you think I never notice you staring at my ass and tits? I’m fine with it before since you didn’t know I have a boyfriend. But how could you still leer at me when you know this body already belonged to someone else?” “T-That’s-! I-I’m sorry! But I-I couldn’t help it!” “That’s not an excuse, you dumbass! Seriously, just stick to those porn mags you share with your Trio pervert gang and be satisfied.” “U-Ughh... I-I’m sorry...” Aika shook her head and let out a sigh. She did feel bad for snapping at her friend, who she was previously fairly close with. But she simply couldn’t help it. She was tired of being leered at by the pervert. Aika was confident in her body and loves showing it off. But, there’s a difference in being seen when she wants to show off her body, and when she doesn't. Moreover, being subjected to perverted gazes from people besides her beloved would always be uncomfortable regardless. So, if she were to increase the time she’d spend with this group, she needed to draw the line with Issei now. “I will do my best to reign my pawn in as well from his perverted habits. I hope we can get along in the future, Aika-san. Oh, and please feel free to come visit our club room whenever you wish. I’d love to hear more about you as a person.” Rias stood up, walked towards Aika, and extended her hand for a handshake that Aika took after standing up from her seat. “Likewise, Rias-senpai. And I’d love to tell you about how wonderful my boyfriend is~! I can’t really talk about him with the girls since they’re all very thirsty. But as a noble lady from a prominent devil family, Rias-senpai must have more experience with guys, right~? I don’t have to be afraid of you becoming head over heels for my darling~” “E-Eh? A-Ahem, of course! F-Feel free to do so...” “Ufufufu~” Akeno giggled softly as she watched Rias blushing at Aika’s words. Forget being experienced, Rias hasn’t even had her first love yet. She waved her hand in a shooing motion, causing Raku’s face to twist in annoyance before leaving. He sat down on his chair with a heavy sigh and placed his bag on his desk. He still couldn’t believe that he’ll have to spend his first ever date with a girl he didn’t even like... “What’s wrong?” A smooth, melodic voice of a man resounded from behind him. And when he turned, he saw Yuuji sitting on his desk with his phone in hand. Judging by his tapping fingers, he seemed to be texting someone. “... Everything is wrong.” Yuuji looked up to see Raku’s exhausted expression. And having been Raku’s friend for more than a decade now, he knew that there were only a few things that could make him have this kind of expression. He looked around and noticed Chitoge with a downhearted expression as well. From that alone, it was enough for him to connect the dots. “...Is it about your fake relationship?” Yuuji whispered in a lower tone. With Shuu talking with his other friends a few distance away, Nanasaki Ai still doing her morning practice with her swimming club, and Viktoriya talking with Onodera about Japanese sweets, there was no one around them. Still, he lowered his voice so no one would hear about it. “...My old man told me to go on a date with her” “Oh, I see. Well, that makes sense. So, what’s wrong?” “That is what’s wrong! I... I didn’t want my first date to be with her...!” Raku looked down in defeat before glancing towards Onodera’s figure on the opposite side of her room. It was an expression of longing. An expression familiar to Yuuji, who had worn the same expression for years as he kept his feelings for his step-mother, step-sisters, and step-aunt a secret. “I see...” Yuuji put down his phone and began to think for a moment. “Hm... It doesn’t necessarily have to be just the two of you, right?” “...Huh?” Raku turned towards Yuuji with a confused look. A date was supposed to be between a couple, right...? Or could it be... Did he have multiple girlfriends and took them to dates together?! No... it couldn’t be! Yuuji never told him that he had a girlfriend! And his sisters also never said anything about this! If he had, then his bro-con sisters would’ve raised hell! “What are you saying...?” “Well, a date is supposed to be between two people. But for your case, you just have to show it to your and Chitoge’s people that you’re getting along, right?” “...I guess. But what’s the difference?” “The difference is that you can just bring another couple and pretend it’s a double date.” Yuuji shrugged casually and returned to fiddling with his phone. He was browsing through his gallery before to pick out which picture of Aika, Erika, and Mayumi he wanted to change his wallpaper into today. But suddenly, Raku slammed on his desk with and raised his voice in excitement. “That’s it!!! You’re such a genius, Yuuji!” “...Oi, lower your voice.” “Ah...” Raku froze and looked around to see several of his classmates, including Onodera, looking at his direction. He rubbed his head with an awkward laugh and turned towards Yuuji once again. “S-Sorry. I got too excited. Thank you for helping me out, Yuuji. I’ll tell you the time and place for our meet up later!” “Eh...? I’m going?” A clear expression of reluctance appeared on his handsome countenance. Honestly, rather than doing this during his precious weekend, he’d rather spend it at home or helping her aunt’s cafe. His aunt, Aika, had been asking when he’d be able to go work there again since a lot of her regulars had been asking for him. And even if he didn’t go there, he could spend his weekend flirting with Mira at home or hang out with the twins.. “Please...! There’s no one but you that I can ask!” “...” The only ones who knew about Raku and Chitoge’s fake relationship in this school were him, Yuna, and Nina. So, the only one who could help Raku was indeed only him. But... “...I can’t bring one of my sisters with me, right?” “Of course not. Everyone in my household can recognize Yuna-san and Nina-san with a glance.” “Hah... That’s right.” Every member of the Ichijou Clan had been tasked to not only protect Raku, but also Yuuji and his family. It was Mira who requested this protection from Raku's father, and he accepted instantly because they were friends. Because of this, they were able to walk around relatively safely despite their head-turning beauty. But, Yuuji didn’t expect it to backfire in such a way. He let out a sigh. If not Mira, Aika, Yuna, or Nina, who could he bring to this “double date”? He didn’t want to cause misunderstandings with his female friends. After all, if he invited them, he’d need to invite them for a real double date since he wouldn’t be able to explain to them the entire situation without revealing Raku and Chitoge’s secret. Although he has multiple girlfriends, the last thing he wanted was to play with a girl’s heart, so he couldn’t just invite anyone. Yuuji looked around the room until his eyes finally landed on a certain, golden-haired girl, who was coincidentally already on her way back to her seat. “Viktoriya, can I have a moment?” “Hm? Of course? What is it?” Yuuji spoke in German, and she replied in kind. “Would you like to go on an outing with me this weekend? We can go around the city, and I can introduce you to some interesting places here. Raku and Chitoge will be coming as well.” “Eh? Really? That would be nice! I would love to!” “Great. Then, it’s decided. I’ll tell you the details later on, okay?” “Yes!” He nodded and turned back towards Raku, who was looking at him with wide eyes and slackened jaw. “What? You don’t mind right? It’ll be a great chance for me to introduce her to the places in this city. It’s two birds with one stone.” “Y-Yes! I don’t mind! I’m just amazed at how easily you invited a girl to a date...” “A date... It’s just an outing between friends to accompany a couple on a date.” “... I guess so.” Thus, the “double date” was decided.