Talk and Donuts

"It has been a while since we last hung out." Aika sounded a little disappointed as she said this. "But I know that you haven't been getting much time for yourself either."

Kento had previously explained to her that he had been working part-time and also grinding different projects for his resume.

There were a lot of companies that provided both scholarships and even gave PPOs if they liked the way an intern performs. 

This was the lie that Kento went with to explain his lack of time to his friends and family –at least to those that did not know about his supernatural activities.

And thanks to his high intelligence stat, he did really well in his studies which was enough to sell his lie.

"I am trying to balance my schedule but it just does not seem possible." He sighed. 

In a way, it wasn't a lie. Since awakening his powers, there hasn't been a time he has been able to relax. Everytime he thought of relaxing, a quest popped up.

But he did not hate it.

Instead in a weird, twisted way –he enjoyed it.

It was not the pain or the constant troubles that he enjoyed. It was not even the thrill of the battles.

Instead, it was the feeling of growing stronger.

Every time his stats increased or he got a new skill, he felt thrilled. The feeling of growing stronger was blissful. And he just could not seem to get used to it.

"We have been out together only a handful of times, which makes even a normal walk feel like a date." Aika said, a slight blush forming on her face as she tried to peek at Kento's face.

Kento found her little movements quite amusing. It made him remember the moment when he first found someone whom he liked. 

'I don't even want to imagine those embarrassing moments.' He felt rather nostalgic. 'But those were some memorable moments.'

So, when the girl in front of him acted shy and tried passing a few comments that she hoped he wouldn't understand –he was reminded of the past.

"I enjoy these walks with you as well." Kento said, quite truthfully.

The two walked to their favorite donut shop. Even if everything else changed –whether it he the roads they took, the people they hung out with or even the emotions they felt– their love for donuts was constant.

Especially for the donuts of that shop.

"I heard Motohama got suspended, is that true?" Kento asked, munching down on the chocolate drizzled donut.

"He did." Aika sighed. "He went too far and stole a few panties."

Kento raised an eyebrow. "I did not expect him to go that far."

"He has been quite weird after Issei left their group." The girl said. "Maybe ponytail was the one that kept them curbed."

Kento did not expect the pervert to go that far. And he did not expect Issei to have such a hold on them.

'At least Issei's personality is developing a little.' Kento smiled, remembering how much the boy has improved. 'And he has even grown stronger.'

Issei getting stronger was possibly the best outcome for him. 

He learnt from Inari that gears like the Boosted Gear were evolution type gears which meant the user did not immediately gain a lot of powers, but the growth in power was rapid and were known to gain a lot of abilities.

Issei was the best infinite plunder source for Kento. As even if he plundered a skill, the boy was capable of regaining the same level of power back with just a little training.

This way, Kento could plunder him a lot of times and Issei would regain that level back.

'Inari did say that they awaken new powers quite often… Which means I can gain a lot of his skills. And it would be easier to level up those skills as well.'

Gaining the same skill allowed him to level up that said skill, so if he could copy Issei's boost skill often –he might be able to make the ability reach S grade or even higher.

"I have seen you hanging out with Issei quite a bit recently." She said. "Is it you that is responsible for the changes in him?"

Kento did not give her the straight answer that she was looking for. Instead, he smiled and shrugged.

"Who knows."

This made Asia sighed. "You always end up helping the people that need it, even if they never ask for it."

She wasn't wrong. Issei's behavior was not normal, it was borderlining a mental illness.

And even Kento knew that he indirectly helped the boy walk on the right path.

'Well I will take his skills as compensation for helping him.'

This was also something that Kento told himself to not feel bad about taking skills from a friend.

He helped them, and took one or more of their skills in return.

"Kento." Aika looked at him, affectionately. "I know I have said this before but… Thank you for helping me when I needed help."

Kento frowned and flicked her forehead. "Don't keep reminding yourself of those times. Things are better now."

"Yeah… They are." She smiled, and closed her eyes. "You know…"

"Yeah?" 

"Your kind personality and your habit of helping others is why I fell for you." She said, unintentionally making Kento feel guilty.

'Is it though?' He asked himself. 'Or was it me saving her that made her develop these feelings?'

He knew that she already had a crush on him but he also knew that it was him helping her that made her fall for him… Cling to him.

Honestly, he did not want to think about such issues. Mostly to preserve both of their sanity.

'It's not that bad to be honest.' He consoled himself. 'Most people fall for others over far stupider reasons.'

And in all honesty, he wanted to enjoy this moment.

After all, once a moment passes –it never returns.

…

…

While things seemed to have settled down by a lot after the ordeal with Riser –which resulted in the Phenex locking himself in a room– the devil heiresses governing Kuoh got a shocking news.

"What!" Rias and Sona both exclaimed in worry.

``I apologize for not being able to explain this to you sooner, Rias and Sona.`` 

The voice that came from the otherside of the transmission device belonged to the current Satan Lucifer, Sirzechs.

``As I told you before, the three Christian factions are at a very crucial point in the talks. And you know how beneficial it will be for all of us if this talk goes through.``

"But why do we have to entertain them?" Rias felt angry. "If the church lost something, they should look into that issue themselves. Why is it that they always bother us devils?"

Sona sighed. "Rias isn't wrong, lord Lucifer. The church has shown us nothing but hostility and even hunted down our brethren for simply walking the earth. It sounds a little presumptuous for them to ask for our help."

The Satan sounded a bit tired. ``Sadly… A third party was involved in this issue and as such, they did something that shifted the blame to us devils. But you can rest assured that the incident has nothing to do with us. However, I need you to help the people of the church that are going to appear in Kuoh soon. That will clear the devil name from this mess.``

Rias and Sona were not satisfied but they also knew how fragile the situation with the other factions was. 

They had no choice but to accept the task.

"Is the safety of our peerage members, guaranteed?" Rias asked as she knew that even if she and the experienced members of her peerage might be able to protect themselves, the inexperienced ones like Issei and Asia would suffer.

``They promised not to use violence against any of you.`` Sirzechs assured. ``If they try, it will be them going against the higher ups' promise. And you are free to retaliate if necessary.`` 

Sona took a deep breath. "Very well." She said. "But I hope the devils are going to be compensated for the troubles we have to deal with."

``We will be.`` Sirzechs assured. ``Once our name is clearned, we can ask for appropriate compensation.`` 

Sona was satisfied hearing this. She knew that nothing was free and everyone had to pay for their actions.

And blaming someone falsely was something that couldn't be simply forgiven. She knew that the Satans would be taking something good as a compensation –something worthy of the situation.

"So, when will they arrive?" Rias asked, but the answer she received was not something she expected. 

They both thought that they had quite a bit of time to prepare for the arrival.

However, they were wrong.

``They will arrive… Once the school hours are over.`` Sirzechs said, shocking both the girls.

"Pardon?"

``They will be here today.`` 

The Satan revealed.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

[[A/N: Read 25+ chapters ahead on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/Greedyfrog

Yeah, they are not supposed to know about the talk so soon. But then again, MC's presence did shake things up.

]]