Ahem!!

"Will the two of you be enough to pull this off?" Rias asked again, she wanted to be involved in this case, because with her assistance the chance of them succeeding would increase.

And if they succeed…

'At least we'd be clear from the church's suspicions, since we helped them get the stolen Excalibur Swords back,' That was Rias's line of thought, since tension with the church wasn't something she wanted and if possible she wanted none of it. 

One wrong move here and her brother can come into the crossfire easily.

The reason for that thought was because of Kokabiel's involvement in the theft, the tensions between the church and the fallen angels have already risen, but if these two end up failing their mission then the church might turn on the devils as well, since the ones who are managing this town are Rias and Sona.

They'll be immediately caught in the suspicions, and that is how their siblings will be involved as well.

But of course, there was no such thought in the mind of the two in front of her.

"We will succeed, that is why we were sent on this mission. Which is why we asking you to stay out of this matter," Xenovia spoke up sounding confident in their abilities, but someone didn't like that along with Rias.

"Even if you are confident, you should at least be grateful to the one trying to be helpful rather than being stubborn, is that how they teach people in churches these days?" Adam said attracting everyone's attention.

'Ufufu, I knew this would happen,' Akeno was smiling while the other members of Rias's peerage agreed.

"Yes, Sensei is right, President is just trying to help, why are you guys acting like this?" Issei also wasn't a fan of this condescending attitude these two were giving, while they were just trying to be helpful.

'I am happy that you stood up for me…' Rias was happy looking at Adam, she also had other thoughts, 'but you don't need to provoke them.' She could feel that from the previous attitude Xenovia had shown.

They really didn't want anyone else to be involved, because it was also a matter of pride for the church.

How would it look if they got help from the devils to retrieve the Excalibur swords that were stolen from them?

It certainly wouldn't make a good picture for them, it will make them look weak and incapable of handling their own matters. That was the reason why Xenovia asked Rias to stay out of this matter.

And then came Adam's provoking words, but the two in front of him didn't take it that way somehow.

"I… suppose we were in the wrong for not putting it in better words," Xenovia's words were a little shocking to Rias and her peerage, because her previous actions and current ones didn't match. 

Even if it appeared as if she was listening to Rias, Xenovia considered the possibility of the Devils being in partnership with Kokabiel. That is why she was so offhanded about everything Rias said, and this was on full display for them to see.

But it was different now, she didn't seem to say those words insincerely like before.

And because of that even Irina was looking at her partner with wide eyes, she didn't expect that Xenovia would say that truthfully.

"Well, be careful next time," Adam folded his arms, and leaned back at the sofa with a satisfied look.

'Why did I… say that?' Even Xenovia herself was in disbelief, and before she said anything else at that moment, she stood up and was ready to leave.

"Then we'll be leaving, the talk is over," she just wanted to get out of here at this point.

"I suppose, but if you need any assistance do contact us," Rias said one last time, and Xenovia who was about to just go away without answering, felt a gaze on her that made her stop in her path.

"We'll keep it …in mind," With those words, she left the place hurriedly as Irina followed her as well. the two even forgot to talk with Asia about something that was of concern to them.

It showed how much they wanted to get away from this place, at least Xenovia had this thought.

After the two left under everyone's gaze, Rias turned to look at Adam, who seemed satisfied with himself.

"You didn't have to go that far Adam," Rias sighed since this could have adverse effects, but she wasn't reprimanding him.

"You can't let people disregard your words like that," Adam clearly wasn't fond of that, especially after what Rias had told him before, which is why he spoke up. At this moment he didnt care whether she was right or wrong.

Simply, he was just being biased because Rias was involved.

"Really… you…" Rias sighed again but then smiled right after, because she found it quite sweet.

She didn't expect him to get angry on her behalf, it was a feeling she quite liked and there was something else she wanted to do to let him know that, but there were several problems with that.

'I'll wait for the moment when we are alone,' Rias glanced at her peerage and found Akeno giggling while looking at her, it was enough to make her blush because it felt like her thoughts were read easily.

But this was just between the three of them, and others didn't notice it.

"Sensei, where did you go?" Issei asked, he hadn't seen Adam since they parted ways before the rating game.

"Well…. I was just figuring some things out," Adam said and Issei looked confused by that line.

"Were you on a search for the truth or something?" Issei felt like it was similar to this manga he was reading, where the powerful master goes missing, then comes back saying that he was training to find the truth of the world.

'I doubt sensei needs physical training, it must be mental training,' Issei nodded since that is what the teacher from the Manga did, he was already insanely strong, but he had other problems.

"Yes kind of…" Adam nodded since it was really like that, though not completely.

"Oh! Sounds cool, what did you find Sensei?" Issei was getting into the discussion while the others were also listening, especially Rias and Akeno, along with another guy who was just as interested in this topic. The reason was the topic revolved around Adam.

'What did sensei learn?' Yuuto was just as focused on this if not more than Rias and Akeno.

"Hmm, just be true to yourself and what you want, it will help lessen your problems," Adam said a rather simple thing and the others tilted their heads.

"But isn't that common sense?" Issei thought that it was a little underwhelming, compared to what he read in the manga.

"Just because it is known by everyone, doesn't mean it can be easily followed. Some circumstances can prevent you from doing the most normal of things," Adam had to learn this lesson the hard way, and it did take him time but now that he had learned it, he wouldn't forget it.

"I see, well I am always true to myself, I will become the Harem King for sure!!" Issei started to laugh just thinking about it and the rest could only shake their head. 

But they couldn't deny that he was being truthful to himself, maybe a little too truthful, but truthful nonetheless.

'To be… true to myself?' Yuuto was thinking about those words deeply, 'What do I want?' he already knew the answer to that but just like Adam said, it wasn't easy to follow just because he knew about it because there were circumstances that prevented him from doing so. 'Do I even… want something?'

And as he was thinking about that, Koneko was standing in front of Adam, her hand stretched out in front of her.

"Hmm?" Adam looked at her face, it was expressionless as always but there were some changes, this was the look he had seen often when he was training the peerage.

'Her eyes are shining,' Adam knew exactly what Koneko wanted, so he smiled and gave it to her.

"Thanks…" Koneko took the big jar of cookies, and sat down on the sofa opposite to Adam.

"She finally looks happy again after having the cookies," Akeno spoke as she gave Adam a cup of tea. 

Koneko on the other hand was lost in the cookies not even bothering with the others, she just swung her legs happily with every bite.

"Maybe, I'll leave some extra for her," Adam said as he took the cup of tea, she reminded him of Ophis which is why he felt like leaving some food behind for her.

"We would certainly be thankful for that," Akeno's lips formed a sweet smile as her fingers caressed his while she was handing cup, "If you need something in exchange, don't hesitate to ask it of me~." she was openly teasing him at this point.

"Sure," Adam just smiled and didn't say anything more, it wasn't like he wanted anything in return since the Cookies weren't worth much for him, and besides that…

"Ahem* Akeno, where is my tea?"