[Occult Research Club] (2)

"Here's your tea."

"Ah, thank you."

I'm sitting on a couch, and Himejima-senpai made tea for me.

I drink it quickly.

"Hmm, it tastes delicious."

"Ara ara ara. Thank you very much."

Himejima-senpai starts laughing happily, saying, "Ufufu."

Kiba, Koneko-chan, Rias-senpai, Yuuma-chan and I are sitting on a couch around the table.

"Akeno, sit here too."

"Yes, Buchou."

Himejima-senpai sits next to Rias-senpai.

Then everyone looks at me.

Seriously, why so much attention on my person?"

"I'll get right to the point. There are only a few matters I want to discuss with you. The first of which is to give you my thanks."

"Thanks for what?"

My question is sincere. I mean, I have no idea why she's thanking me.

"For what you've done for my pawn, Raynare. Not only have you forgiven her offence to your person, anyone else would have killed her without hesitation, but you also protected her from the attack of a fallen angel. You have my gratitude and that of all my peers, Ise."

Oh, so that's why.

Honestly, I don't think it's a big deal. Yuuma-chan had a failure, but she's already paid for her mistakes. I do not think the offence was as immense as Rias-senpai describes, as that grievous attack would have scratched my skin.

What surprises me is the sincerity of Rias-senpai. I cannot see a trace of a lie in her words, she is sincerely grateful for what I have done for Yuuma-chan. I did not expect the first Pure-blooded Devil that I encounter to be so kind.

"I am also grateful for ending an enemy of the devils, that fallen angel. They were formerly angels who served God, but they are beings who fell into hell because they had bad intentions. Now, they are also enemies of us, the devils."

Yeah, that was information I already knew.

When I learned from Ddraig that Azazel and company had been exiled from heaven, I was quite surprised. They were all faithful followers of Father, so it's not unexpected my shock when I knew about their betrayal.

The devils have been at war with the Fallen Angels since ancient times. They have been fighting for the possession of the Underworld, which is also known as Hell in the human world. The Underworld is divided into two areas, that of the devils and that of the Fallen Angels. The devils form pacts with humans, receive their sacrifice and increase their strength. The fallen angels, on the other hand, control the humans to eliminate the devils. The Angels, on the other hand, have the objective of destroying both races by orders of God, forming the 3 forces.

"No, no, senpai. No need to thank me for something so trivial, I just did what any normal person would have done."

Rias-senpai shook her head.

"No, that's not what anyone would have done."

I shrugged. Everyone can think what they want.

"What's the second topic you want to talk about?" I asked Rias-senpai.

She nodded and nodded to Yuuma-chan. It's my girlfriend turn to talk.

"The reason I was ordered to kill you, and why I approached you was to see if there was anything dangerous inside you. I got a weak response from that, so I took the time to check on our date. During that time, I confirmed that you are a human owner of Sacred Gear."

Sacred Gear.

I'm familiar with that term.

(Sorry. You're a threat to us, so we decided to get rid of you beforehand. If you want to hold a grudge, then hate God who put Sacred Gear in you.)

That's what Yuuma-chan said at the time.

Of course, I already knew I was a Sacred Gear owner beforehand.

[Boosted Gear]

Also known as [Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet]. Listed as one of the thirteen Longinus, it has the spirit of the Welsh Dragon, Ddraig, residing within it.

Over the past few years, Ddraig and I have had many conversations. Most of these consisted of the dragon teaching me how to use the skills that reside within the Sacred Gear.

It wasn't until about two years ago that Ddraig said he had taught me everything he could, and went into a deep sleep. There were still things about Boosted Gear that I had to learn, but it didn't seem like it was time yet. Ddraig was going to wake up when the time came.

"Sacred Gear is an irregular power that is given to certain humans. For example, most of the people whose name is recorded in history are said to have owned Sacred Gears. They used the power of their Sacred Gears to engrave their name in history." Kiba said.

Yes, Sacred Gear is a power that only my descendants possess.

"At present, there are people who have Sacred Gears in their bodies. Do you know those people who play an important role in the world? Most of those people have Sacred Gears in their bodies."

Himejima-senpai continues after Kiba.

Rias-senpai continues to explain.

"Most Sacred Gears have functions that are only usable in human society. But there are exceptional Sacred Gears that are a threat to us, the demons and the fallen angels."

That's right. Sacred Gear humans of the highest calibre and top-tier Sacred Gears, known as Longinus, like my [Boosted Gear], are dangerous to the supernatural world.

Each and every one of the 13 Longinus has the power to potentially kill gods.

"I'm aware of all that. But what does that have to do with anything right now?"

That's my question right now.

Rias narrowed his eyes and looked at me, she seemed to be studying me.

"Our previous conversation was held on the premise that I am Rias Gremory and you are Issei Hyoudou, two students at Kuoh Academy who belong to or have a record of the supernatural world. Now, all we are going to talk about from now on is a conversation between the heiress of the Gremory clan and ruler of the city of Kuoh and a possible danger to the population, and especially to my peerage and myself. That's why, please don't be offended if any question is not to your liking. This is a conversation we had to have sooner or later, as much as I don't want to have it."

Huh...

Looks like Rias Gremory's gone into business mode.

"You have a speed that exceeds what the human eye can grasp and very tough skin, that's all we know about your abilities. I have nothing to hide, this information comes from Raynare. I don't know if those skills come from your Sacred Gear, but it's safe for us to think they don't. My first question is, Do you belong to any organizations?"

"No. In fact, my encounter with Yuuma-chan was the first time I've ever interacted with any supernatural being in this world. I already had some knowledge about the supernatural beforehand, so I wasn't so surprised by Yuuma-chan's identity as a fallen angel."

"I see. Now, I only have one more question. Well, it's more of a request than a question. Can you tell me what your Sacred Gear is?"

This was something I expected.

First of all, I must say that I am surprised to learn that the ruler of this city is none other than the most beautiful senpai in school.

That aside, I'm also surprised at the ways she's dealing with all that. I expected her to be more arrogant, being the heiress of a great clan and such a beautiful woman. Instead, she has been respectful to me at all times.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to be stupid enough to show her my [Boosted Gear].

Rias Gremory's relationship with me can be said to be neutral, albeit a friendly one. We're not allies in any way, which means we could become enemies depending on the circumstances.

I wouldn't show it if my [Boosted Gear] was the normal one, the one known and feared by all the factions around the globe.

But it's not.

Even Ddraig was surprised at first when he realized that the Sacred Gear where his soul resided had mutated.

FLASH!

My right arm is glowing.

The light begins to take shape and covers my right hand.

When the light stopped shining, my right hand was covered by a red glove. This glove exposed the fingers, but this had a knuckleduster on it.

It seems that this mutation on Sacred Gear is because my Volund has followed me into this new life.

Reginleif, the seventh of the Valkyries. She joined me to fight Zeus, taking the form of a Knuckleduster in my right hand. She fought beside me to the end, but we ended up losing by a drop of Zeus's blood.

When I appeared in this world, the first thing I did was call Reginleif. She hasn't answered my calls, but I know her soul is still connected to mine. My guess is that she has joined my Sacred Gear in some way, and her soul resides inside Boosted Gear along with Ddraig's soul.

That would explain the mutation in the Red Emperor Dragon gauntlet.

"This is my Sacred Gear. It doesn't do anything special, it just doubles my power for a limited time.

Even though my [Boosted Gear] is different than normal, I don't want to risk them discovering the true identity of my Sacred Gear. That's why I've given you the description of a similar, but very inferior Sacred Gear.

"By the description of what your Sacred Gear gives you, what you possess is a Twice Critical. This is also known as Hand of the Dragon. It is a Dragon-type Sacred Gear, but it's also a common one. But its appearance does not match that of a Twice Critical..."

Rias mutters as he makes a thoughtful face.

"Thank you very much for revealing such important information. That's all I needed to know. Seriously, thank you so much, it saved me a problem with the higher-ups."

Mmm...

So that was the reason she'd asked for my Sacred Gear.

Come to think of it, Rias-senpai had said she assumed my strength didn't come from my Sacred Gear. And she guessed right since I hadn't used [Boosted Gear] at any time. Since this one wasn't necessary.

I don't know what my level of power is in this world since Yuuma-chan is the strongest person I've ever fought. She was stronger than that other Fallen Angel, although for me there wasn't much difference between the two.

Rias-senpai stands up and extends his hand to me.

"I, Rias Gremory, heir to the House of Gremory, who holds the rank of Duke, am willing to form a friendship with you, Hyoudou Issei. Ise, will you be my friend?"

With a smile, I stand up and shake her hand.

"I would be honoured, Rias Gremory."

..................….

Hyodou Issei had left the club room. Raynare had accompanied him, and Kiba and Koneko had each left for their respective homes.

Inside the club hall, only the president, Rias Gremory, and the vice president, Himejima Akeno, remained.

Sigh...

The first one laid down on the couch and let out a sigh.

Himejima Akeno, her queen, approached her and sat down beside her.

"Is there something bothering you, Rias?"

"I'm thinking about Ise. That boy is strong, though I can't tell you how much. His Sacred Gear, if I'm not mistaken, is a subspecies of Twice Critical. Twice Critical is a very common Sacred Gear, but we can't underestimate it because this is a subspecies. If the Balance Breaker of that subspecies could be used, then its strength could be immeasurable. It may be that even if we attacked it among all the members of the peerage, we wouldn't be able to defeat it. Good thing he seems to have a close relationship with Raynare, I don't want to have an enemy like him living in the city I rule."

Akeno could only nod. She agreed with Rias, Ise was a complete unknown.

"Rias, why didn't you try to recruit him at the Peerage?"

Rias only gave Akeno a sad smile.

"And what piece could I use to reincarnate him? Raynare already cost me eight pawn pieces, so I only have one piece left from each of the remaining classes. Do you think I could reincarnate him with those few pieces? Remember, he had been able to easily kill the same person who cost me EIGHT pawn pieces."

Akeno sighed and leaned back on the couch as well.

It was a pity. If Hyodou Issei were to join the Rias Peerage, then the problem called Raiser would disappear.

Akeno was certain of that.

"I would never have expected Raynare to be the same as me, a hybrid. And to think that there's another fellow who has these disgusting crow's wings."

Akeno laughed lightly, despising herself.

Since that event eight years ago, she had decided to hate everything that represented the Fallen Angels. At the very least, she was going to hate everything about Baraqiel.

But now, a fallen angel had joined the Peerage de Rias. Like her, Raynare was a hybrid born of a human and a Fallen Angel. But, unlike Akeno, Raynare's father was only an average Fallen Angel. That Fallen Angel had died on a mission years earlier, leaving behind an orphan Raynare who had already lost her mother to a strange disease years earlier.

As such, Raynare's situation was not much different than Akeno's, so it was difficult for the young Himejima to hate her new partner no matter how much she was related to the Fallen Angels.

Moreover, she had heard from Rias about Raynare's last years at Grigori, which had been summed up as futile efforts to try to get close to a person who would probably not pay attention to her for hundreds of years. She was only a weapon to Grigori, a disposable item.

Rias looked up at her best friend. She gave Akeno a complicated look, with a trace of sadness.

She wanted to help her best friend overcome her childhood trauma. She knew that somewhere in her subconscious, Akeno missed his father.

Honestly, Rias didn't know what to do to help Akeno with this problem. She could only support her at all times, waiting for an opportunity to help her move forward.

Everything would work out if Baraqiel came to speak to Akeno.

Father and daughter should start talking to each other, reconnecting bonds that were broken in one tragic night.

But that wasn't going to be so easy. Rias had even asked his older brother about this, and he had responded that this was not a good time for the younger sister of the Maou Lucifer to contact one of the leaders of the enemies.

Damned political matters, they only made Rias' head hurt.

Akeno interrupted Rias' thoughts with a question.

"Do you know anything about Raynare's Sacred Gear? It must be a powerful one to take up so many pieces."

Rias smiled unconsciously at the new power of the newest member of her Peerage. Perhaps not being able to have Hyodou Issei in the Peerage would not be so bad.

Of course, it would have been better to have someone of his calibre on their side, but Raynare was not a bad addition.

"It's a very interesting one, Akeno. It's a very interesting one."