Chapter 168 - Rias's Suspicion
In Mahiro's house, there aren't many personal items.
Asia has just moved in recently, and she isn't the type to shop much, so aside from some essentials, she doesn't have many belongings.
With everyone's help, the transfer was completed.
As for the house, it will be kept for now.
Before evening the church representatives arrived to retrieve the holy swords, and Rias returned all five holy swords to them.
This incident was thus completely resolved.
"The holy sword that has been with me for so many years is gone…"
Irina watched in sadness as the church members sealed Excalibur Mimic, then turned and left.
As a chosen wielder of Excalibur Mimic, Irina had kept the holy sword with her since childhood to form a bond with it.
Over the years, it became her imaginary friend.
"Irina, compared to Lord's death, it's just a holy sword. There's no need to be sad about it."
Xenovia gently tried to comfort her.
"!!!"
However, her words seemed to have the opposite effect.
"Xenovia, you idiot! You don't understand anything!"
Irina glared at Xenovia in annoyance.
"I told you, don't call me an idiot!"
Xenovia retorted immediately.
The two then started arguing over who was really the idiot, and the previous sadness seemed to dissolve between them.
"Oh my, what optimists, these two," Akeno remarked, watching them with a sparkle in her eyes and a hint of amusement.
"By the way, Jeanne, what are you planning to do next?" Rias asked.
"I'll probably stay in Kuoh Town for a while," Jeanne replied truthfully.
"Oh?" Rias pondered briefly, then gave her a scrutinizing look.
"But Jeanne, you wouldn't come to a place like Kuoh Town without a reason.
"Can you tell me your purpose? Otherwise, I can't help but feel concerned."
Although the upcoming peace talks were public knowledge, Rias suspected that Jeanne's presence was not due to the talks.
Perhaps she was passing through, or here for another reason?
Jeanne fell silent.
She couldn't reveal the matters regarding Hero Faction.
And mentioning about the blind dates would be too embarrassing.
"It seems Jeanne has her reasons for keeping quiet," Rias observed with a serious expression.
Although Jeanne had helped in the past to some degree, Rias remained wary of a former church member with unclear intentions.
After all, it was unknown if the church harbored extremists like Kokabiel.
"Oh… fine, if you must know why I'm here, I'll tell you," Jeanne finally gave in, raising her voice with a hint of frustration.
At that, everyone's eyes turned toward her.
"It's to avoid a blind date."
Jeanne's voice was so soft and rushed that she, who usually exuded confidence, now looked visibly uncomfortable.
"What?" Rias blinked, momentarily stunned, as she didn't catch it clearly.
Mahiro, however, had heard her clearly, though he found her reason somewhat amusing.
"I said it's to avoid a blind date!" Jeanne repeated loudly, almost as if surrendering, then looked down with a sullen expression.
"A blind date?"
"You're being set up for a blind date?"
Everyone looked at Jeanne with a mixture of surprise and curiosity.
Despite her usual boldness, Jeanne blushed deeply at their gazes.
"Don't look at me like that! I'm not lying!" Jeanne explained, visibly embarrassed.
"I don't know what those old hags in my family are thinking."
"I'm only eighteen, and they're already pushing me to go on a blind date and have children to carry on the family lineage."
"It's simply unreasonable! I'm still so young—I don't want to be a mother!"
"That's why I ran away.
"Kuoh Town is in gremory territory. No matter how smart those old hags are, they wouldn't expect me to hide here."
Jeanne explained everything in one breath.
Mahiro glanced at Jeanne, and he could tell she was being truthful, though he also knew she hadn't told the whole story given her ties.
Still, it didn't matter.
For now, She posed no immediate threat.
"I didn't expect that you who bears the name of a saint would face such issues too."
Rias gave Jeanne a sympathetic look.
Not long ago, she herself had been forced into a marriage contract to preserve the devil pure-blood lineage.
Hearing Jeanne's situation, Rias could understand her feelings.
"You've had a rough time, Jeanne," Rias sighed, comforting her gently.
"..."
Jeanne looked puzzled, unsure why Rias had suddenly become so compassionate.
"Jeanne, if you don't mind, you're welcome to stay here longer. Also, Are you still a student?"
"Yes, I'm in my last year of high school," Jeanne replied.
"Would you like to attend Kuoh Academy?" Rias offered.
"I can arrange a new identity for you, and now that you're a guest of mine, I can't leave you on your own."
"I'd appreciate that, Rias."
"Then it's settled. Tomorrow, you'll join us at school, and Xenovia and Irina will also report to the academy with me."
"School?"
Xenovia hesitated, murmuring nervously, "I used to study with nuns in the church. I'm not sure I'll be able to adapt."
"It's pretty good in Schools, " Irina reassured her nonchalantly.
Unlike Xenovia, Irina had attended a regular school before.
"Xenovia-san, I'll help you get comfortable with it," Asia offered kindly.
"Thank you, Asia," Xenovia replied seriously.
"Well, let's celebrate to welcome our new members!"
Rias clapped her hands excitedly.
Soon, she called Yuuto over to help with the preparations.
From shopping for ingredients to celebrating at the banquet, the party lasted over four hours.
And just like that, the day quickly passed.
The next day, everyone headed to academy together.
Rias had completed the admission procedures for Irina, Xenovia, and Jeanne the day before.
Jeanne joined Rias's class, while Irina and Xenovia were assigned to the same class as Koneko and Asia.
While Mahiro attended his classes as usual, the cooldown period for the dimensional world finally ended.
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