A week passed after the mission Azazel had given him.
Rias' peerage members were confused after they went to the abandoned church.
Even though there were many stray exorcists, they couldn't find the fallen angel.
After Akeno's torture sessions on some unlucky exorcists, the exorcists also don't know their whereabouts.
However, after Rias thought for a while, she felt the Fallen Angels had already run after they found out Rias's peerage wanted to ambush them.
Currently, At Kuoh Academy, a new transfer student named Asia Argento became famous because foreigners were rarely in the academy.
When Ryota towards his class, a group of people, especially men, gathered in an underclassman classroom. He looked inside. A blond girl with an airhead and kind aura got surrounded, and people asked her a lot of questions. He instantly recognized her. He saw her that day on the abandoned church, and right now, she had the aura of the devil.
As Ryota walked towards his class, a group of people, mainly boys, gathered in one of the classrooms.
Ryota was curious, so he peeked inside.
A blonde girl with an air of airheadedness and kindness was surrounded, and people asked her many questions.
He recognized her right away. He saw her that day in the abandoned church, but right now, she wasn't a human, instead she had become a devil.
Ryota didn't know why Rias had reincarnated him. He didn't want to know the reason either. So he ignored her and continued walking towards his class.
"Ryota-senpai!"
Ryota turned around and saw Reya and Momo walking towards him.
"Reya, Momo. What's going on? Snooping around the new transfer students too, like the crowd over there?" said Ryota while pointing at the crowd.
"No! I want to talk to you, senpai!" said Momo.
Ryota was confused and pointed at himself.
"Me? What do you want?"
Momo was nervous while Reya giggled beside her.
"Umm, I heard from some rumors, you are close to Kiba-kun..."
"Stop! Stop!"
Ryota looked around. Some people had already started to look their way, trying to hear any interesting gossip.
He forcefully held Momo and Reya's hands and started running and dragging them to a place with fewer students.
Ryota looked around again and then said to Momo with a stern gaze.
"Listen, Momo. Don't talk nonsense like that at the academy!"
Ryota got goosebumps thinking about the crazy girls in this academy.
If he wasn't dating Tsubaki, Ryota was sure the rumors would be even crazier.
Momo looked at him with a confused and dumbfounded expression, while Reya, for some reason blushed.
Ryota noticed he was still holding Momo and Reya's hands, so he let go quickly.
"Hey, Reya. Are you blushing just from holding hands? Your future with your boyfriend is bleak, I guess." said Ryota.
"E-e-eh!? B-boyfriend!? Umm..," Reya almost shouted, feeling panicked. And then she started muttering in a low voice while blushing.
Ryota ignored her and looked at Momo.
"What do you want to ask? I don't know anything about Kiba, but he is quite famous in the academy. So asking me about him is completely useless."
"Ah... I wanted to confess to him, but I don't know anything about him at all... I thought Ryota-senpai could help me since you and Tsubaki-senpai are dating, and seem experienced when it comes to romance..." said Momo nervously while playing with her hair.
Ryota looked at her weirdly.
"You can ask the student council members, you know?"
Momo shook her head quickly.
"No! Sona-kaichou is impossible! She'd rather play chess than talk about this! Tsubaki-senpai can't either! Whenever I ask about Ryota-senpai, she always blushes and doesn't answer me! Tomoe is even worse! She always talks about cute little kids. There's no way she would know this kind of thing! Tsubasa is more popular with women than men, so she's useless too! I don't want to ask Ruruko because she's an underclassman. And Reya..."
Momo looked at Reya with a disappointing look.
Reya was still muttering with a slight blush on her face.
Ryota also followed her gaze and shook his head.
"Yeah. She is hopeless."
"I don't really talk to members of Rias-senpai's peerage, so you are my only hope, Ryota-senpai!" Momo said as she looked at him with puppy eyes.
Ryota felt weird getting such a stare from Momo, but he ignored it and started thinking.
After class was over, he was basically always free, he was on the going-home club, and after coming home, he practiced or played with Osakabehime to pass the time. Unless Mephisto gave him a mission, or he had planned beforehand, this was what he did every day.
Ryota nodded and said.
"Yosh. Request accepted! How about my reward?"
"Reward? Ryota-senpai isn't helping out for free?" said Momo surprisedly.
"I do things for free just for my girlfriend. Nothing in this world is free, Momo." said Ryota while shaking his head.
Momo thought hard about something she could give Ryota but she couldn't find it. Then Momo said in a depressed tone.
"But I didn't prepare anything at all..."
"Ah, it's fine, you can prepare later, we'll meet again after class, okay? How about your student council work?"
"You don't have to worry, senpai! The council work for the past few days was easier than usual, so I've finished it! If Sona-kaichou doesn't call us for a meeting, I don't need to go there." said Momo excitedly.
Ryota nodded and looked at Reya.
"Ah okay, then. How about you, Reya?"
Reya woke up from her muttering and became panicked.
"E-eh? Me!? Why do I need to join too?"
"If you blush just by holding hands for a few seconds, you're hopeless. Learn from Momo here, and become more comfortable with this kind of thing."
"That's right, Reya! After Kiba-kun becomes my boyfriend, you can ask me anything!" said Momo confidently.
Reya smiled awkwardly. Then she pulled Ryota's shirt.
"Hey, Ryota-senpai. Is this going to work?" whispered Reya curiously.
Ryota looked at Reya and whispered back.
"I don't know. But, this is interesting, that's why I accepted her request."
Reya felt dumbfounded, and then she started giggling.
"Hehehe, senpai. Momo will be mad if she finds out about this."
—
"Alright, Momo. To win a man's heart, you need to know about him first. So tell me everything you know about him."
Three people sat under a big tree in the schoolyard, near the kendo club building. Ryota asked Momo some questions while Reya looked at them silently.
Ryota didn't want to use Sha Naqba Imuru, even though the information he needed wasn't important, it required a lot of magic power, so Kiba and the other demons would be aware of the magic fluctuations within the academy.
"Umm... He's handsome, kind, and good at swordsmanship, he has a sacred gear called Sword Birth, it can make many different swords with various effects." said Momo while holding her chin.
Ryota raised his eyebrows.
"...Then?"
"Err... He's a high school student at Kuoh Academy, his grades are pretty good, his nickname is Prince Kuoh..."
"Stop! Stop! This information is useless! What do you like about him?"
Momo tilted her head cutely and said.
"He is cool, I guess?"
Ryota massaged his forehead, feeling a headache looking at this strange girl. This request was supposed to be easy, but suddenly became difficult because of this statement.
He moved towards Reya slightly and whispered to her.
"Oi, Reya. Is this girl real? She seems more like a fangirl than a girl in love."
"Momo is always like this, senpai. Just help her. If we fail, I'll help you cheer her up." Reya whispered back while clenching her fist cutely.
'It's not 'somehow' anymore...' thought Ryota.
"Is there a problem, Ryota-senpai?" asked Momo while looking at Ryota and Reya suspiciously.
Ryota sighed and decided to continue helping her.
"Do you know something he likes? Maybe he'll like you if you give it to him." asked Ryota.
Momo started to think again and said.
"I think he likes to train and fight with fellow sword users."
"...Oi Momo, information like this is useless, unless you're also a sword user."
"But, it was you who asked me! Everything I say is all I know! That's why I'm asking for your help, Ryota-senpai!" said Momo with her puppy eyes again.
Ryota was already feeling tired.
"Never mind, I'm just going to tell you the general stuff guys like."
Momo nodded.
"Have you ever heard 'The way to a man's heart is through his stomach'? That's almost true, though there are a few exceptions." said Ryota.
"What is it, senpai?" asked Reya.
Ryota looked at her and smiled.
"If a girl you like cooks for you, everything will taste good. If Tsubaki-chan cooks for me, even if it doesn't taste good, I will still eat it without hesitation."
'After all, I have a poison cure inside the Gate of Babylon.' thought Ryota.
"I see, I see."
Momo and Reya nodded.
"So, what can you cook? Maybe Kiba will fall in love after you cook something for him." asked Ryota while looking at Momo
"I can cook instant ramen and rice, senpai!"
Ryota shook his head inwardly, feeling amazed.
"You really are a crazy girl, Momo. Tomorrow, I'll give you the cookbook then."
"Thank you, Ryota-senpai." said Momo shyly.
"How about you, Reya? Want a cookbook too?" asked Ryota.
Reya shook her head.
"No, I don't need that, senpai. I can make katsudon or miso soup without any problems."
"Hmm, pretty good, I guess. See you tomorrow then."
—
Several days passed.
Ryota gave Momo some basic cooking recipes after asking Tamamo about this. Reya helped her from the beginning of her cooking practice, and now Momo was quite confident in her abilities.
"So, did Kiba like your cookies?" asked Ryota.
"I don't know, senpai! But, he accepted it and said he would eat it later." said Momo excitedly.
Ryota nodded.
"That's progress, then. He never accepts anything from strangers, so he sees you as a friend, perhaps."
"And he smiled at me!"
Ryota looked at her strangely and whispered to Reya.
"Why is she so happy because of a smile? Isn't Kiba always smiling?"
Reya smiled awkwardly.
"This is the first time she's given anything to Kiba-kun, senpai. She's probably quite happy."
"...Is that so? She really looks like a fangirl who managed to give an item to her idol."
"What should I do next, Ryota-senpai?" asked Momo.
Ryota and Reya stopped whispering, and looked at Momo.
"Ah... The next thing is your clothes. If a girl wears a pretty dress in front of the person she likes, the change that person falls in love with is greatly increased." Ryota said.
"Does this also apply to you, senpai?" asked Reya curiously.
Ryota shook his head and said.
"Everything I said was just a guess for a normal guy. I've never fallen in love just by looking at some random girl's clothes. I don't know anything about Kiba, but at least, we did something to help Momo."
Reya silently nodded.
Meanwhile, Momo was in her dream with her cheeks turning red.
"Am I going on a date with Kiba-kun!? Kyaa!"
Ryota smacked Momo's head.
"Stop dreaming. This is to prepare for your future date. Let's go."
"It hurts, senpai! Kiba-kun would never hit me if we became a couple!" said Momo with teary eyes while holding her head.
"That's right. I'm not your boyfriend so I can hit you then." said Ryota while smirking at her.
Momo felt Ryota was teasing her, so she asked Reya for help.
"Reya! Ryota-senpai is bullying me!"
Reya felt flustered and didn't know what to say.
"E-eh? U-um…"
Ryota ignored both of them and walked out of the school grounds.
Seeing Ryota going towards the outside of the academy, Reya and Momo followed behind him.
"Where are we going, senpai?" asked Reya curiously.
"Of course. Shopping for Momo and your clothes." replied him.