75 Chapter 73 ~ Panic and Shock

"Hm…"

*Clink*

"Here you go, pres."

"Ah, thank you, Akeno."

The sound of the ceramic plate hitting against her mahogany wood desk brought Rias out of her daze.

Before she knew it, there was a steaming cup of darjeeling tea her queen had prepared before her. She hadn't even realized Akeno's approach until she placed it down on her desk.

"Hah…"

A deep sigh escaped her lips after taking a sip of her tea.

"You seemed tired. How about resting for a while?"

Rias shook her head to Akeno's thoughtful suggestion.

"I can't. I need to keep a watch on her. I need to catch a glimpse of her ability and the "group of people" she's associated with."

Rias had spent her entire afternoon watching Aika through her familiar. After the breakdown in negotiations and failing to persuade her into entering her peerage, Rias needed to find out her abilities and information on the "group" behind her to make sure she would not pose a threat to her, her peerage, and the city she was in charge of.

But instead, she felt increasingly vexed as she continued to observe the woman named Aika.

Born with immense beauty and status as a high-ranking devil, the princess of the Gremory ducal household, and the little sister of the strongest devil in the underworld, Rias took pride in her self worth as one of, if not, the most beautiful, powerful, and influential young devil.

She had always been revered for her beauty and received countless courtings from male humans and devils alike.

But now… she found someone with beauty that surpassed even her.

Naturally, she rejected the thought at first. She convinced herself that she was simply surprised to see someone as beautiful as herself all of a sudden.

But… those denial slowly turned into vexation and envy as she continued to observe Aika.

With nothing special happening around her, Rias's attention naturally focused on her dazzling appearance.

At first, she simply admired Aika's beauty and even complimented her for having a beauty on par with herself. But as she continued to observe her, she began noticing some things that Aika was better in than her.

Her skin was unblemished and beautiful, even more so than any female devils she knew who were supposed to embody devilish beauty. Her eyes were bewitching, and her lips, nose, and ears were all so perfectly shaped.

Aika's waist seemed to also be slimmer and more athletic than her. Even her breasts and hips, that Rias was so proud of, lost in all aspects; size, shape, and elasticity.

It was as if she was created to be the embodiment of absolute beauty.

Someone who'd elicit envy even from the most beautiful women in all realms… That is what Rias came to a conclusion about Aika after observing her all afternoon.

Well, there's no use being upset over this… Since she declined my invitation to become a half devil, her beauty will soon disappear with age.

Rias thought, convincing and calming herself with such belief without knowing that Aika would obtain an SSR that would make her even more beautiful and eternal than a devil like her.

With such thoughts, Rias was able to curb away her envy and vexation and resumed observing Aika through her familiar.

And just then, she noticed something.

"Akeno, gather everyone here as soon as possible."

"Eh? But they've all just gone back home… Did something happen?"

"Yes… There's a fallen angel stalking her."

Akeno's eyes widened in shock. Anger, despair, frustration, and hatred filled her eyes as traumatic memories of her mother's death flashed through her mind. But she quickly calmed herself and did as Rias ordered.

"Understood."

Rias began to watch Aika and the fallen angel stalking her more closely as Akeno contacted Koneko, Kiba, and Issei.

The fallen angel following her wasn't the female fallen that killed Issei. It was a male fallen, the one that had also attacked Issei a few nights ago.

He was closing in slowly, and Aika didn't seem to notice him. If she was a regular person, then Rias would've immediately assumed that she didn't notice the fallen angel, who was most likely concealing his presence.

But Rias knew that Aika was familiar with the supernatural, and seemed to be a fairly strong sacred gear user. So, her lack of reaction was most likely an act.

The fallen angel didn't seem to notice it, however, and continued to approach her with a voracious and lustful expression.

Rias continued to watch, wondering if she could finally catch a glimpse of Aika's ability. But when he was finally only a few meters away from Aika, she quickly shook her head.

No, this is wrong!

No matter how envious she was of her or how much she wanted to know about her skills, Rias couldn't simply watch as a student of her school was attacked by a fallen angel.

She needed to go now.

"Akeno! We're going now!"

"Did they attack her?!"

"They're about to!"

Akeno quickly conjured up a magic circle as Rias quickly made her way to her queen's side while still watching Aika through her familiar's vision.

But all of a sudden, her connection with her familiar was cut and the teleportation magic circle shattered.

"Eh?! What's going on?!"

"Pres, could they perhaps erected a barrier?"

Rias bit her thumb nail in frustration and shook her head.

"No… My connection with my family didn't cut off even when he had already erected a barrier. And that kind of barrier wouldn't be powerful enough to cancel your teleportation."

"That's true… Then, what should we do?"

Just then, the door slammed open and Kiba, Koneko, and an exhausted Issei came barging in.

"President! Is it an emergency?"

Kiba asked with urgency.

"Kiryuu Aika is being targeted by a fallen. Akeno's teleportation magic failed and my connection with my familiar is cut off."

Rias clenched her teeth as numerous questions filled her mind.

Just what happened? Who did it? And how was Aika's situation right now?

"We need to go there by foot! Hurry!"

""Yes!""

"E-Eh?! By foot?! But I just ran- Ah, please wait for me!!!"

Rias led her peerage to the road she last saw Aika in, running as fast as they could with Issei lagging behind.

Naturally, the figures of the two of three greatest beauties of Kuoh, the blonde-haired prince, and the adorable mascot of Kuoh, and one of the infamous perverted trio running through the school grounds attracted a lot of attention.

But such a thing didn't matter to them at the moment. They could simply erase the students' memories about this later on if it proved to be a problem for them. Right now, their main priority is to arrive at the scene and, if they're not too late, save Aika from danger.

They quickly arrived at the scene, and every single one of them stopped and froze in place.

There's no battle. No… There was a battle, as evident from the devastated road, impact marks, and destroyed asphalt. Bloody black raven feathers, blood splatters, and obvious signs of battle were numerous. But there was no… body.

And to their surprise, all the blood here belonged not to a human as they expected, but a fallen.

"What… What's going on…"

Rias slowly took a step forward, followed by the rest of her peerage, as she looked around baffled.

"Pres, that…"

Rias turned her gaze towards the direction Akeno pointed at, and saw an especially massive crater with more blood seeped within its cracks than anywhere else.

They all approached it and saw even more black feathers in it.

"Could it be… Did Aika-san do all of this…?"

Akeno muttered in disbelief.

"Such destruction… I don't feel much magic from her this morning. And considering her physical prowess… She must have surpassed the realm of normal humans by far physically."

Rias reasoned.

"E-Eh? T-That K-Kiryuu Aika did this…?!"

"Considering she threw me before I even knew it, I think it's a fair assumption."

"Mm."

Koneko nodded to Kiba's words as Issei still looked at the scene in disbelief.

He still couldn't imagine how such a lithe and frail-looking beauty like Kiryuu Aika could create such devastation…?

"...Akeno, please call Aika-san again tomorrow. We'll need some answers."

"Yes, pres."

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

[Aika-chan, be careful~ You are currently being watched by two devils.]

The alluring, melodic voice of a mature woman resounded within Aika's mind. Unlike the original [Great Sage], who sounded more robotic and younger, Aika had made it so that she sounded more mature and sexy to her preference. It was a way for her to fulfill her desire to have an older sister as an only child.

Ah… I can sense it too, [Great Sage]. They must've noticed my confrontation with that fallen, huh?

With her keen senses in addition to the absolutely broken skill she got from Tatsuya's world, "Elemental Sight", Aika could clearly sense Rias and Akeno watching her from the old school building the moment she entered the school premise even without her Great Sage's help.

She pretended to ignore them and continued making her way inside the school. It was a bit unnerving, but at least, the ones watching her were beautiful girls.

[Ufufufu~ They're extremely shocked right now because you are emitting such immense magic power.]

Eh? Immense magic power?

[That's right~ The reward you received from completing your mission, specifically your Immense Psion Count, has been turned into Immense Magic Power.]

I see… Well, I would've liked to conceal it, but it can't be helped now.

[Don't worry~ I've concealed 70% of your magic power.]

Really? Thank you, nee-san!

Aika let out a sigh of relief inwardly. She didn't want to emit her full magic power since they might consider it an act of threat. It would be a different case if Rias, Sona, and the devils in this school were blatantly showing their hostility towards her. But since they have enough tact to hide their magic power while peeking on someone, they should have no intention of being hostile towards her.

[No~ Ufufufu~ They are not concealing their magic.]

Aika's eyes widened ever so slightly, trying her best to appear normal while keeping her surprise internal.

Eh? S-Seriously? Aren't they supposed to be high-ranking devils? Hey, Sage-neesan, are you sure you're right?

[Geez, how could you doubt me~ Have I ever been wrong~?]

Well… No, but… Nee-san, are they trying to be hostile to me?

[No. I sense no hostility coming from them.]

Then why…? Ah, is it because they've never trained seriously?

Aika recalled in the anime that Rias's peerage never went through rigorous training. They were simply living life like regular humans, aside from their occasional contract fulfillment duties. Other than that, they've never truly tried to improve themselves in such a dangerous world.

I guess it's because she believes no one would touch her with Lucifer as her brother.

She sighed inwardly. Now that she had grown and experienced more stuff related to the supernatural, the crimson-haired princess of destruction now looked more like a spoiled princess.

Why wasn't she training her best if she really hated the engagement her father set with the Phenex family? Why was she wasting time being a student and casually trying to find a talent that would come to this remote school? It was as if she's betting everything on finding a diamond in the rough that could help her. If it wasn't for plot armor, then she might very well be looking for her wedding dress now.

Aika thought it might be pretty nice to have her as her future sister in Yuuji's harem. But now… She didn't want Yuuji to have to deal with a spoiled princess who can only be a damsel in distress.

Hm… Nee-san, what do you think of Akeno?

[If you meant it as her being a candidate to become Yuuji-kun's future wife, then I believe she is better than Rias.]

Yeah, I think so too…

Unlike Rias, Akeno had more drive to become stronger. The reason why she's not training as much as she could was because Rias was holding her back. Moreover, she also couldn't utilize her full strength due to her hatred towards her father.

Once that hatred is resolved and she's free from her shackles, then she could easily become a powerhouse in the supernatural world.

Also, isn't she a shrine maiden~? Ufufufu~ It would be fun to role play with her being a shrine maiden~

[Ara ara~ Ufufufu~ You're such a naughty girl, Aika-chan~]

Aika giggled inwardly. There's no use worrying over them since they'll call her again to talk about her encounter with the fallen "yesterday", so she simply made her way to her class.

Classes passed by quickly. With the help of [Great Sage], her academic capabilities have skyrocketed to the top. Even without having to pay attention, she could simply ask [Great Sage] to help her during tests and she'll get a perfect score.

So, instead of paying attention to class, she browsed the Chat Group Store to see what kind of interesting stuff was there to past time.

Soon, lunch break came, and as she expected, Akeno came to her class to call her again.

"Aika-san~ May I have a bit of your time after school~?"

"U-Uwoooh! Akeno-senpai is here again!"

"How lucky! Seeing two sexy beauties at the same time gives me energy to go through the rest of the day!"

"..."

Two of the three Trio Perverts immediately made a scene with their remarks. While the one other member of their trio couldn't help but feel nervous since she knew what the president wanted to talk about with her. He could still remember the bloody scene from yesterday, and even until now, he couldn't believe that Kiryuu Aika caused it.

"Eh? Uhm… May I know the reason? I'm sorry to say this, but my decision hasn't changed since the last time we talked."

Aika feigned ignorance, which Akeno was well aware of. But even then, Akeno still kept a friendly smile.

"I understand. But the president wishes to talk to you about another matter. So will you please come by to our club room after school?"

"...I understand."

"Thank you very much~ Then, I will look forward to this afternoon~"

"Yes. See you soon, senpai."

Akeno left after giving Aika a beautiful, wide smile, and Aika immediately contacted Yuuji to tell him what's going on as she made her way to the cafeteria with her friends.

"Ah! Oi Aika, how can you message your boyfriend while you're with us? Are you trying to make us jealous?!"

Katase complained with a pout. Here she was fantasizing about her boyfriend and using the selfies Aika gave her as her "side dish" for her nightly "exercise", while Aika could have her all to herself whenever she wants. How could she flaunt her boyfriend while they're here!

"I'm not~ I just wanted to tell him that I'll probably go home late today."

"E-Eh?! A-Are you living with him?!"

Murayama exclaimed in shock. They're still in highschool, so how could she already move in with her boyfriend?!

But then, she recalled that her boyfriend was also rich. So could it be that… he had already bought a house for them to live together?!

"No I'm not. I just had a promise with him this afternoon. But since I'm called by Gremory-senpai and Himejima-senpai, then we'll have to postpone it until tonight."

"T-T-Tonight…? W-What are you going to do?"

A myriad of dirty thoughts flashed across their minds. After all, if they were his girlfriend, then they would definitely spend every second of their free time with him to be lovey dovey and do dirty things with each other.

And seeing their reactions, Aika couldn't help but smile teasingly and winked.

"That's a secret~"

""!!!""

The two kendo girls froze as their faces turned red in an instant.

Well, I'll just be chatting with Yuuji all night, but they can fantasize about me being railed by him too~

She giggled inwardly and continued to make her way to the cafeteria, leaving the two frozen until they caught up with her.

They're both silent now, fantasizing about the kind of things Aika would be doing with her boyfriend tonight. And while they did that, Aika sent a message to Yuuji.

Kiryuu Aika: "Hey, Yuuji~! What are you doing~?"

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Hm? I'm at home now. I just finished talking to my family about the Chat Group."

Kiryuu Aika: "Oh? How did they take it?"

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "They were shocked, for sure. But they have no choice but to believe it since I gave Mira the Potion of Eternal Beauty. She became even more beautiful overnight, so they had no choice but to believe."

Kiryuu Aika: "Oh really~ Send me a pic!!! I want to see what my future mother-in-law / sister looks like~"

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "...I'll send it to you later. Anyway, what's up? Considering the time… You should be in school now, right?"

Kiryuu Aika: "Uhn! It's lunch right now. And Akeno-senpai just came to talk to me."

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Akeno… So they're calling for you now, huh…?"

Kiryuu Aika: "Mm, they must've noticed that I beat that fallen guy up "yesterday". Also… I think they also sensed the immense magic power I'm emitting."

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Ah, that's right… We got an immense Psion Count as a reward from the mission. It must've been converted into an immense magic power in your world."

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Are you okay? Will you be fine? If you don't think you will, or if you sense danger, then escape immediately by going to Tatsuya's world and call me. I'll meet you there."

Aika let out a smile as she read his message. And unbeknownst to her, the two kendo girls by her side were watching with pure jealousy and envy.

Kiryuu Aika: "Mm, thank you."

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "For now… do you want to talk about this with the group and get their opinion? Now that you've shown your capabilities to them, they'll want more answer from you."

Kiryuu Aika: "Yes. I'd love that. Let's move to Group Chat."

Aika then explained her current situation, including the attack from the fallen angel, to the group.

Chiba Erika: "Eh? Did you really encounter a fallen angel? Like, the one from the myths?"

Kiryuu Aika: "Mm! Fallen, devils, and angels exist in my world, as well as various other mythical creatures. Though, they mostly live hidden from regular humans."

Chiba Erika: "Heeeeh, that's pretty interesting…"

Kiryuu Aika: "You should go watch High School DxD from the file Yuuji shared here! It's an anime about my world!"

Chiba Erika: "Alright, will do!"

Lelouch Lamperouge: "If I'm not mistaken, that Rias girl has a familiar, am I right? Considering her personality, I believe she must be spying on you with her familiar to try and catch a glimpse of your abilities and perhaps even extract some information about us, the group you mentioned to her."

Kiryuu Aika: "Eh?! Really? Damn… I didn't notice at all…"

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "That's before you have Elemental Sight and still new to magic, after all. And when you activate your necklace that you enchanted with the Anti Magic Zone spell, her connection with her familiar must've been cut off."

Lelouch Lamperouge: "Indeed. Then she either waited for her connection with her familiar to be back or went to the site of the attack in person."

Kiryuu Aika: "Wait, but couldn't she teleport? If she wanted to see the fight, she could just teleport right?"

Lelouch Lamperouge: "Hm… If she did try to teleport, then the fact that she didn't appear before you might prove that the effects of your necklace hinders teleportations as well. If so, then this would be useful information to know."

Chiba Erika: "Wow… There's teleportation magic too? That's crazy…"

Kiryuu Aika: "I see… If it's true, then it is certainly very useful to know. Erika-chan, your necklace might be able to do that too since it's basically an upgraded version of mine!"

Chiba Erika: "I'd love to test it, but there's no way to do it in this world. There's no teleportation magic, after all…"

Kiryuu Aika: "You can try it when you come to my world later on!"

Chiba Erika: "Mm. I'll do so."

Aika then continued the main topic of conversation.

Kiryuu Aika: "Then, what do you think you guys should do? Sage-neesan thankfully concealed 70% of the magic I'm emitting, but I still showed them that I have magic power that I didn't have just the day before."

Tsubakihara yuuji: "...Sage-neesan?"

Lelouch Lamperouge: "Pretend you did everything on purpose."

Aika's eyes widened when she saw Lelouch's message.

"...Huh?"