2 Chapter 02

The weather is gloomy and rainy. Some people pass with umbrellas down the street and now and then look strangely in a certain direction.

To be specific, they look towards a house that had all the curtains drawn, and in the second-floor bedroom, a shadow was projected through the curtain.

Lightning and thunder.

"HaHahA," a typical voice of a megalomaniacal, dramatic villain sounded, "I'm unstoppable! Get down on your knees, worms! Dragons, gods, and demons? Laughable. You can all come together. HaHahhaaa. Power of destruction? Who needs this?"

*Appraise*

I look at a pillow and the information on all components, manufacturing method and measurements converge in my mind.

"Recognize the supreme power--," While I'm distracted in my speeches.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Standing outside the bedroom and seeing his son's unresponsiveness, Mr. Sato sighs.

Motohama has always been a weird kid. At first, he was a little antisocial and shy. But in a period that he knows when, perhaps in his early teens, the boy began to be interested in anime full of depravity, pornography, and staring at the female figure.

Of course, he takes pride in his interest in women, but with the way he handled things, Mr. Sato could imagine already his son as a possible future bachelor.

But he wouldn't be so pessimistic.

In the last few days, he has improved. Mr. Sato had noticed a difference in his son, he was a little more in control of his perversion.

There is still hope, he told himself.

"I just wanted some grandchildren to pamper in my old age," - Mr. Sato shakes his head to the side, before entering the room.

"You will regret it, your --" I freeze midway when I see the pair of eyes staring at me. Quickly I take off my cloak of darkness, toss it to the side of the bed, and straighten my position.

We stared at each other in silence, no one wanting to say the first word about the situation. Not even a single sigh can be heard, just the sound of rain outside.

"Hmm-- I think I came at a bad time. I'm sorry." Mr. Sato makes a move to leave the room, but first...

"WAIT! I mean – you didn't come at a bad time. I was just – err" I nervously look around me, buying as much time as possible and, "Rehearsing a play. That's right. That's right. I was thinking about joining the school drama group."

"..." Mr. Sato has a stoic face, after a few breaths of silence between them he asks, "Drama group?"

"Yea."

"Well-- I'll let you continue what you were doing. Call me if you need anything," - Mr. Sato.

"Wait!! What were you saying earlier?"

"Nothing," Mr. Sato says no energy. "I just wanted to check that you were all right. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get some rest."

As he walk down the hall, Mr. Sato sighs. "Grandchildren?" he smiles dryly to himself.

There was no more hope, this is the end of the Sato lineage.

...

After seeing Mr. Sato leave the room.

"..." I couldn't tell how things could go so wrong.

But everything had a rational explanation. What I did was necessary to continue my cover-up, but I mustn't deny that it's frustrating to be mistaken for some sort of Chuunibyou teenager.

In short, I was making this ridiculous role cuz I was being watched.

Even now I could feel some sort of eyes directed at me from outside the window.

And it all started on that unfortunate day.

--- Flashback ---

Kuoh Academy a few days ago.

"Well, well," I stare at the academy's facade building as I walk slowly.

It had been a few days since the discovery of my powers. I didn't know if this was innate magic or some kind of sacred gear, so I named it Appraise.

Some advances have been made. Previously, the limit of times I could use Appraise was 1 time, with continued use the mana pools increased and now had a limit of 6 times.

Strangely using this skill to gather measurements from a woman would not spend mana and please don't ask me the logic on that.

"Calm down, boy," a husky voice caught my attention and made me look to the right. It was the school janitor, who had been tending the grass before, "If you allow this poor old man's curiosity to be satisfied ------ The summer vacation has barely begun, shouldn't you be enjoying it? What a man like you doing around here?"

Damn it.

"Oh? Janitor-san? Is there a problem?" I give him a doubtful look and ask, "I thought the school was open during the summer for students to use, did I assume wrong?"

"Not at all. Not at all," says the caretaker in a carefree voice and laughs openly. However, his gaze and voice abruptly changed to a cold storm, "You wouldn't be around for more than one of your shenanigans, would you? During classes, you, I mean, the perverted trio. You three already give this old man enough work. Don't I deserve a break?"

"Cough," I straighten awkwardly. Looks like my perverted reputation once again bites my pants. "Don't worry, Janitor-san. I just came to use some of the school library."

"Wonderful then," he flashes a grandfatherly smile and says, "Good luck with your studies."

"Thanks," I waste no time and enter the school premises.

But what Motohama couldn't see was --- the eyes of that same janitor that still pierces his back.

...

What I told the janitor was half true, I really wanted to use the academy library.

And by the way, the academy library managed to be even bigger than the city's public library. These heirs of the devil really didn't know how to skimp on school design and size.

Even now I had to be very careful not to get lost among the countless shelves full of books.

My visit went straight to the occult and ancient history section. Anything that would give me an edge would be welcome. Maybe some book that can really help me is lost around here.

While the appraise skill is cool, I needed to learn more about the supernatural. Who knows how to learn some magic? My information due to the anime may be insufficient for my conscience's sake.

Because I could only use Appraise six times, I had to read a little bit of each book to try to separate fiction from the real ones. To be honest, even those books whose authors wrote as works of fiction must have a little bit of truth.

In this world dragons, vampires, demons are all real. The greatest difficulty was to find among so many books something that would be a reliable record.

Luckily everything was well categorized and on its proper shelves, which certainly made my job easier. Apparently, Sona and the administration take the organization of the institution very seriously.

After a few hours of defeat, I separated three more believable books by their introduction and applied Appraise to each of them.

Needless to say, the disappointment I had in getting the complete information from these three books. All written knowledge is engraved in my mind and I can say that that was also a fraud.

"Sigh. After all, what could I expect?" I adjust the junction of my glasses, a mania I've acquired unconsciously from the previous owner of this body, and start putting away the books.

Damn it. Apparently, my coming here was a waste of time.

"Huh?" Something catches my eye when I make a move to retire, an unusual place to be specific.

A few shelves to my right, the books on the shelf were all disorganized. Very strange, I thought. Remembering, the rest of the library had a high level of organization and this was breaking the mold.

Moving closer out of curiosity, I read the bookcase sign.

"Manga? Who the hell would put an otaku section in a school library?" - Although I soon wondered who could have put it there.

Sona is a very serious person, for her manga would never enter this library. If my hypothesis is correct, Rias, who is admittedly a fan of Japanese culture, is actually a closet otaku.

"Well, that explains the mess," I muttered to myself. Rias as the owner of this space should be responsible for taking care of the organization.

I confess that I let my curiosity take over, I wanted to compare and see which animes existed that are similar to those of my past world.

"The Familiar Master, Zatouji? Hmph! This looks like a pokemon," I say scornfully as I flip through the pages of a manga, before noticing something out of place, "And this is??"

Some books were mixed up in the mess of the sleeves.

[Celtic magic for even a stupid to understand] ; [Introduction to Human Magic]; [Egyptian Curses, Volume IV]; [Easy Underworld Politics, Volume I]...

Bingo.

I couldn't help but smile at the sight of that gem. Having used Appraise before, I was able to save only the first three books with said skill.

But I would not waste my coming here and read the old-fashioned way as much other literature as possible.

The information from the three books flooded my mind and my smile couldn't have been wider.

Time seemed to go by fast. It was right there, while I immersed myself in reading standing up.

"Ahem"

My heart froze at the sound of such a sudden, familiar voice. And worst of all, I hadn't even been able to hear this person approach.

Lifting my eyes from the book...

There she was, a beauty worthy of being called supernatural.

Sona Sitri or rather Souna Shitori. I must say that she is without a doubt one of the greatest beauties I have ever met in this life or the next.

Although it is true that she is not on the same level as the two great One-sama. A lot of people don't see how great her beauty is, due to fear of her rigid personality.

"Sato Motohama, is that right?" She says in a cold voice that makes my spine shiver and her violet eyes did not help me at all, they seemed to want to penetrate my soul.

Damn, I'm so unlucky. On my first attempt to get into Kuoh Academy and I already have a date with one of the two princesses.

And another thing, it's summer vacation, what is she doing here? By Camelot, she doesn't take a vacation, does she?

"Y-you, I mean -- AHEM, Yes. Yes. But you can call me Motohama, my friends call me that."

I couldn't control my emotions, so pathetic. There's a certain aura she radiates that affects me for being just a weak human with little magic. Makes me more and more addicted, a devil's whisper that makes me want to forget my restrictions and just enjoy that magnificent beauty.

She frowns a little at my lack of composure. "Sato-san," she said ignoring my earlier suggestion. "What do you do around the school, may I ask?"

I had to act wisely now. Hiding the book in my hands would be even more suspicious and I'm sure she's already seen the title on the cover. I would have to play a dangerous game and move the right pieces.

I bite my tongue to control myself and adjust the seams of my glasses.

The chances of my memories being erased were very high. She probably wouldn't let a normal human walk away with the book knowledge of the supernatural that came from carelessness on their part. She would not admit such a mistake.

After pretending to be a little somber, I look both ways as if to make sure no one is listening to our conversation and ask, "Souna-Kaichou..."

"Yea?" She pays a little more attention because of my sudden air of suspense.

"Would you believe it if --- well," I stop once more dramatically and then say, "What if I told you the supernatural is real? What would you say?"

Thud

"W-What?" Sona's body staggers forward slightly, her usually cold and distant face giving way to a confused and surprised one.

I confess that seeing her character break was a little cute. But this wasn't the time to focus on trivial things, the integrity of my memories depended on it.

With a little blush at her brief lapse, Sona adjusts her glasses with a serious expression back and says, "Sato-san, please, no jokes."

"But I'm not kidding. I mean it! And I can prove it," Seeing her eyebrow raised, I continued, "Well -- I don't mean to brag, but --- I'm actually a mage, " my chest heaves and I put on a haughty look as if I'm trying to impress her.

Sona immediately probed with her demonic energy to see if she could find any hint of magic in that boy's body. Finding nothing she frowns.

In her view, Motohama Sato was a completely normal human. Below average magic energy and no sacred gear of any kind.

"I'm sorry if I'm a little skeptical, Sato-san. But the supernatural doesn't exist. It's just fairy tales and legends," Sona says with her arms crossed and a slight twitch in her index finger. "But you say you can prove it, huh? Not that I have high expectations for it, but why don't you show me some of this?"

"Ehh? Well -- It's not that I can't- you know. AND-AND-AND" I put on an embarrassed expression and wave my arms a lot like I'm distressed. "I don't deal well with pressure or when people are looking at me. HAHA. I run out of energy and it gets in the way of the cardinal flow of epicenter---"

As I keep spewing my bullshit.

I totally ignore her indifferent gaze.

"--And that's why I am a great Mage, believe me. I just don't get along with the public," I puff up my chest and cross my arms in a pose.

"..."

After a brief awkward silence.

"Have you done your summer work, Sato-san?"

"No. Why are y-" Before I can ask why she interrupts me.

"Perhaps you have a lot of time left, I can request the professor immediately to-," Hearing the threats of more summer homework, my eyes really widen.

Like a speeding ghost, I don't waste time.

I ran and yelled from afar in desperation, saying, "SORRY, Souna-kaichoooou. I just remembered I have an appointment today. Until next time."

After making sure to remove all the potentially dangerous books from that section, Sona continues walking down the halls.

"Kaichou," greets a young woman with black hair.

"Tsubaki," Sona acknowledges her queen's presence with a wave.

"What happened, Kaichou? You look tired."

The conversation with Motohama had tired Sona in ways she couldn't explain. At first, she was just going to erase his memories and send him home with a compulsion.

However, when she was taken aback by his statements and out of her initial curiosity, she decided to listen to what he had to say and ended up falling into a trap.

His strange way of acting vaguely reminds her of a certain someone Sona would rather forget if possible. After feeling drained, she just let him go.

What harm would it have done for him to have read a few books? He probably didn't even understand them and is just a normal human. The problems caused by this would be irrelevant.

Irrelevant, Sona repeated to herself internally to calm herself. It's all about control. The academy is organized and without any Mahou Shoujo screaming for love Yuri-Yuri through the halls. All under control.

All she wanted now was to rest.

"Nothing, Tsubaki. It's all under control," replied Sona calmly.

"Are you sure?" Tsubaki asked slightly worried.

Was she sure?

He wouldn't create any kind of trouble, would he?

Just a normal human.

Sona was outwardly calm, however, an image of a certain mahou shoujo came to mind, she shudders and says, "Send some family members to guard Sato Motohama's house. Any suspicious movement let me know."