Activity at the Abandoned Church

Human World, Japan, Kuoh.

Two weeks have passed since the new school year started. In those two weeks, nothing of significance occurred. James continued his observation of Mio and Maria along with the other members of his peerage during their club activities. Preliminary estimates suggest that they have no ill intentions against anyone in the town. However, James determined that more observation is necessary.

During class hours, Koneko and Gasper were responsible for observing the Naruse sisters. This duo actually formed a good observation team. Thanks to Koneko's senses as a former youkai paired with her ability to sense emotions granted by training in [Senjutsu] and Gasper's unassuming cowardly nature, Mio and Maria were unaware they were being observed. They were wary of the two devils in their class, however.

One thing that James took note of, however. Maria has a disproportionate amount of strength when compared to her petite body. Also, her hand-to-hand fighting skills are quite impressive. Nothing he could not handle, though.

Today, however, something interesting did come up. After school, at the Alaverus mansion, the mansion's residents were visited by Lady. Not that receiving visits from Dante and Lady every now and then was unusual in any way. Rather, the information Lady brought with her was what James found interesting.

"So, you're telling me that there are some fallen angels hiding in the town?" James asked with an eyebrow raised.

Currently, Lady was reporting her latest findings to James in his art studio. While James was drawing sketches to decide which manga he would draw next, he was receiving the report calmly.

"That's right." Lady said calmly. "Dante and I are unsure when they showed up. But we know they've made their base at the abandoned church on the outskirts of the town."

"Damn, this could be tricky." James said with a slight frown. "We can't just storm a church. As devils, it would more than likely be seen as a provocation. *sigh* I'll report this to Ri Ri and Sona. I want you and Dante to keep an eye on them. I'll write up the commission and bring it over tomorrow after school."

With a slight smile, Lady nodded. "No problem, Over the years I've been able to see that you're good for it."

James could only smile at the woman standing before him.

"And don't worry I'll drag Dante's lazy ass along with me." Lady said with her smile growing wider.

"*Sigh* that guy really is lazy when it comes to jobs he finds uninteresting." James said while shaking his head. "Alright, go ahead. I'll take care of everything else."

"Got it." replied Lady before she exited the room and left the house shortly afterward.

"Damn it." James muttered to himself. "Why are all the problems we face lately from fallen angels?"

After muttering to himself, James cleaned up his drawing tools and left the studio to report to Rias and Sona. The trio concluded that it would be best to report the activity of the fallen to Serafall and let her contact the Grigori about the intruders into their territory.

After a couple of days, once again, the devils received word from the Grigori that they had not given any orders to their forces to infiltrate Kuoh. Not that they would admit to it if they had. In the end, the decision on how to deal with the four fallen angels, who made a base in Kuoh, was left up to Rias and Sona as a form of training. What the two heiresses decided to do was keep tabs on the fallen's activity and act after any ill intent was detected.

After the decision was made, another two weeks passed before anything new occurred with the fallen angels. Or rather, before anything new happened regarding the church. On that day, Issei, on his way to school, came across a girl dressed in a nun's habit. Unsurprisingly, the nun, who could only speak in Italian, was lost in the town. Unable to communicate with any of the town's inhabitants, she was unable to ask anyone she came across for directions. Lucky for her, Issei happened to be passing by. Unfortunately, he arrived right after she tripped and fell face down. With her butt propped up in the air and her panties exposed, the perverted Issei was instantly drawn to the girl.

"Excuse me, are you alright?" Issei said in fluent Italian.

Thanks to the racial trait of devils, Issei, having never learned a word of Italian, was able to speak to the nun in her native tongue. The language ability that all devils possess allows them to naturally speak in all spoken languages and hear foreign languages in the most familiar language.

Ye... Yes, I'm all right." The nun said in an embarrassed tone as she slowly climbed to her feet.

When the girl stood and faced Issei, what he saw was a pretty girl with blonde hair that flowed down her back, split bangs over her forehead, a single strand that sticks up from the top of her head, and green eyes. On top of that, she had this innocent aura that everyone could feel. Something that could never be faked.

"I'm so glad I found someone that can speak Italian." The nun said happily.

'Italian?' Issei thought to himself in confusion. Then, he remembered the devil's inborn language understanding. 'Oh, that's right, Buchou mentioned something about being able to communicate in all languages.'

"Ha ha, yeah, I bet it would be tough when you can't speak to anyone properly." Issei said with a wry smile. "So, are you lost or something?"

"As a matter of fact, I am." Asia said embarrassedly. "I was trying to get to the church in this town. I was assigned there recently."

'The church? Buchou told me I should never go there.' issei thought to himself.

"You are a resident of this town, right?" Asia asked hopefully. "If you are, could you help me get to the church?"

Although Issei knew he should refuse the girl's request, being weak to pretty girls, Issei eventually agreed.

"Sure." issei said awkwardly. "But we'll have to hurry. I don't want to be late for school."

'As long as I don't get too close, it should be fine, right?' Issei thought to himself before starting to lead the way.

"Oh, by the way." the nun said, causing Issei to halt his steps. Then, with a polite bow and an angelic smile, the girl introduced herself. "My name is Asia Argento. Thank you for helping me."

"Don't worry about it." Issei said with a blush. "My name is Hyoudou Issei. Come on let's go."

Then, the pair of boy and girl began walking toward the church on the outskirts of the town. However, as they passed a small playground, Asia stopped when she heard a young boy crying. Shortly after, she turned and saw a young boy sitting on the ground with a scraped knee. Without hesitation, she rushed over to the boy and spoke. Knowing that the boy was unable to understand her, she simply extended a hand. Then, with her hand glowing in a gentle green light, the boy's wound began to heal. After healing the boy, he was whisked away by a woman whom Asia assumed to be his mother and Asia returned to Issei's side.

"Wow that was incredible!" Issei exclaimed excitedly. "You could help a lot of people with an ability like that."

Hearing Issei's genuine praise, Asia was only able to smile sadly. Deciding not to comment, she urged Issei to keep moving toward the church.

"We should get going, Mr. Hyoudou." Asia said while still wearing that sad smile. "I wouldn't want you to be late to school."

Issei, finally remembering that he had to go to school, panicked slightly. Then, he and Asia hurried their steps toward the church. Not too long later, the duo reached the church's vicinity and Issei stopped and pointed it out to Asia.

"Well, there's the church." Issei said while pointing a finger in the church's direction.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Hyoudou." Asia said with her hands in a gesture of prayer. "If you have the time, please allow me to offer you a cup of tea before you go."

Hearing that, Issei's instincts warned him that that would be a bad idea.

"I'd love to, some other time, Argento-San." Issei said, trying to refuse as politely as possible. "But if I don't hurry, I'll be late for the first bell."

"That's too bad." Asia said reluctantly. "Hopefully, we'll get another chance in the future."

"I'll gladly accept your offer the next time we meet." Issei said energetically. Then, he turned around and waved his hand as he walked. "I'll see you around, Argento-San."

"Hopefully, we'll meet again soon, Mr. Hyoudou." Asia said happily while waving her hand energetically. "And thank you again."

As Issei distanced himself from the church, the heightened heart rate he had been experiencing while he was close to the church slowly returned to normal.

'I guess Buchou wasn't joking about the church being dangerous for devils.' issei thought to himself as he began to hurry to the school. 'I should probably tell Buchou about that nun, Asia, being assigned to the abandoned church.'

With that, Issei hurried back toward the school. Lucky for him, he arrived in his class no more than a few seconds before the bell rang, saving him from the headache that would follow being late.

===Lunch Break===

"Are you an idiot!?" Rias shouted in frustration after hearing Issei's retelling of this morning's events. "I thought I made myself clear. You should never go near the church."

Issei could only lower his head. He knew he was wrong to approach the church. However, he knew he would do it again if it meant helping someone. Unfortunately, that would never be a good enough reason for Rias.

"Alright, Ri Ri, calm down." James said while patting Rias on the shoulder. "At least your [Pawn] isn't someone heartless, right?"

After hearing that Issei had met a nun who was assigned to the abandoned church, Rias asked him to stop his story. She then called for James and Sona so they could hear the latest news about the church. That way, they would be able to make any necessary countermeasures for any plans the fallen angels may have.

Hearing James' words, Rias took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. She knew Issei only did it because underneath all that perversion, the boy had a kind heart. Unfortunately for Issei, all the sexual harassment mixed with the jealousy from not being able to be intimate with James like the other girls often makes her lose her cool. And more often than not, Issei is the outlet for that anger.

"I know, I'm just a little stressed." Rias said in response to James. Then, she turned to Issei and continued. "What you did was a good thing, Issei. But I was just worried about your safety."

Hearing that, Issei started to feel guilty about his actions. He knew Rias told him to stay away from the church for his own good. But he felt bad for the lost nun.

"Anyway, I've already got Dante and Lady keeping tabs on the fallen angels who are based in that church." James said nonchalantly. "So, we'll know if they do anything stupid."

"What?" Issei exclaimed in shock. "There are fallen angels in that church? Does that mean Asia is in danger?"

"Oh, it seems like someone has a crush on the cute little nun." James said playfully while raising an eyebrow.

Issei blushed slightly at James' teasing, then his expression changed into something serious.

"I wouldn't say it's a crush or anything." Issei said while scratching the side of his head. "But since I was the one who led her there, I kinda feel responsible."

Hearing that, not only James, but everyone present was surprised. None of them ever expected to hear Issei say something so mature. And the looks on their faces showed it.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Issei said in annoyance after seeing the surprised expressions on everyone's faces.

"Ara, Ara, they grow up so fast." Akeno said while pretending to cry. "It feels like just the other day that Issei was sexually harassing every girl around him. But now, he's worrying about a girl's safety."

It probably feels like that, Akeno-San..." Koneko said while nibbling on a cookie. "Because it was just the other day that that perverted idiot was sexually harassing all the girls around him."

"Oh, now that you mention it...." Akeno said while pretending to contemplate Koneko's statement.

Hearing that, Issei blushed in embarrassment. Meanwhile, everyone else in the room, with the exception of Koneko who stared at Issei like he was nothing more than filth, laughed uproariously.