In the Rating Game Viewing Room
Seeing Rias, Akeno and Valerie relaxing and drinking tea in the middle of the baseball field put a smile on Oreki's face as he sat watching them on the screen. He couldn't wait for the others to see the fruits of the training he had done with Rias' peerage, especially with Gasper, whom he had turned into the Medusa Proto for the time being. Gasper would eventually train to become the full Dio after mastering his sacred gear. As for Akeno's former clan, witnessing the ability he had given her would surely make them fume with anger, thinking and insisting that her power belonged only to them due to their greed. Oreki understood their perspective; greed could be good, but too much greed clouded judgment. As for himself, he wasn't even sure if he was human anymore, but as long as he thought he was human, he considered himself human.
Regarding Akeno, Oreki didn't want to deal with her former clan if they started appearing after seeing her ability. He had told her that it was her job and responsibility to handle unsavory people from her former clan who desired her power. Luckily, she had accepted this responsibility easily, as she should, since he had already given her the tools to eliminate them. "Wait a minute... did I just create a loop out of this situation or something?" Oreki thought to himself. He shook the dumb shit out of his head before saying to himself "And those people won't even probably know Akeno's possessed those ability" He look at Riser flirting and kissing with his Queen while thinking that Sizechs and Phenxe won't upload this unofficial rating game to devil tube after Riser gets humble.
Back to the screen, seeing Rias' peerage getting cocky made Oreki want to correct them with his co... cough! Yes, they needed to cough out the cockiness from their system. Nothing lewd, but everything that was permitted to do them. He didn't even know what he was talking about anymore, so he decided he might as well talk to Sirzechs. Using his omni view, he looked at Sirzechs without taking his eyes off the screen.
Sirzechs watched the screen with a frown, seeing Rias doing nothing but drinking tea and talking about random things from time to time while watching through the winged familiar. He might have been thinking of scolding Rias for her attitude, but he couldn't voice it out because it was Oreki's fault for giving Rias the confidence to be leisurely and indifferent about the rating game, even though what was at stake was her freedom from her arranged marriage. However, there was still a fault here for not disciplining her in the past and not teaching her how to be a proper head of the Gremory family in the future.
Sirzechs turned his head toward Oreki, and by the look on his face, it was clear he was about to ask what Oreki had given Rias to gain such confidence. However, before he could even ask, Oreki already beat him to it, just like a good old visionary. Oreki didn't read Sirzechs' mind; instead, he read and interpreted the expression on his face to know what he wanted to ask.
"I didn't give her that much," Oreki answered Sirzechs's unspoken question, though he lied as easily as he breathed. He had given Rias the firepower to spam Destruction Magic, and he had also given her the opposite of Destruction, although she could only use it if she touched the broken or destroyed item within 24 hours of it getting destroyed. In short, he had given her a nerfed version of Regrowth.
Sirzechs frowned after hearing Oreki's answer, not believing it for a second. He knew this guy was obsessed with Rias and Akeno and would probably pamper them and give them everything they wanted if they wished for it. However, when he looked at his wife, who was busy moving the winged camera that was flying around the arena, he smiled slightly before asking, "Oreki, I have a favor to ask."
Oreki turned to Sirzechs, having been waiting for this moment ever since Rias mentioned her brother might want to ask for a favor after speeding up the process of the rating game to break off the engagement. "I'll do what I can," he replied, though what he meant was that he would do it, no biggie, as he just wanted to humblebrag.
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Inside the Rating Game with the Trio of Koneko, Kiba, and Gasper
The trio walked toward the football field, vigilantly scanning for any enemies. They discussed their strategy to attack Riser and his peerage in the Assembly Hall.
While walking, Kiba asked Koneko out of curiosity, "Koneko, do you miss your sister?" He kept his eyes moving warily around their surroundings. He couldn't help but ask after noticing Koneko's envious looks at Gasper and Valerie's sibling moments. It wasn't just him; even Rias had been pampering Koneko more since Valerie's arrival.
Koneko stopped walking, looking down and gritting her teeth. Kiba and Gasper halted as well, waiting for her response, though Gasper continued observing the vicinity for any ambushes. After calming herself a bit, Koneko looked up and answered in a flat tone, "No, I don't." She resumed walking.
Kiba didn't accept that answer and pressed further. "Then why do you always look envious whenever Gasper and Valerie are laughing or talking excitedly?" he asked determinedly, blocking Koneko's path. He really wanted to get to the bottom of this but chose the wrong time, as they were in the middle of a rating game. Gasper's eyes widened as he looked at Koneko and Kiba.
"I told you, I don't care about her. I don't want to involve myself with her because she is a wanted criminal," Koneko replied, still in a flat tone, but her anger was evident as she trembled, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth.
When Kiba was about to question her again, a voice rang in their minds. "Kiba, stop asking unwanted questions and focus on the rating game for me, will you?" Rias said through their communicators.
Kiba's eyes widened. "Sorry, I didn't mean to anger you," he said sincerely, bowing to Koneko. He wanted to help her get over her sister but realized he had overstepped his boundaries.
"It's okay," Koneko said with a sigh, calming herself after being reminded of her sister, who was a wanted criminal in the underworld. She shook her head to erase the thought.
"Koneko, we'll talk about your sister when the time is right. Maybe we can capture her with Oreki's help," Rias said in their minds.
Koneko's eyes lit up at her King's suggestion of capturing her sister with Oreki's help. It might give her closure and help her overcome the trauma that prevented her from using her natural-born abilities as a Nekoshou. "Thank you, Lady Rias," she said, bowing even though Rias wasn't there.
"No problem! I will do everything to help my lovely peerage," Rias said shamelessly, even though she planned to dump Koneko's problem on Oreki. She believed Oreki would help Koneko regardless because he might be interested in her. She then instructed them to proceed with their mission before going silent again.
"Lucky you, Koneko. Oreki will help you with your problem," Kiba sighed, still watching for ambushes with narrow eyes. "If only I were a girl, maybe I could ask him to help me get my revenge," he said.
Koneko and Gasper looked at him weirdly, and Rias's voice came through the communicator, "Stop the gay thoughts, Kiba."
"But it's true, though," Kiba retorted with a shrug. "And I'm not gay," he blushed.
"He will help you if you just ask," Rias responded before adding, "Look at Gasper; he asked Oreki to make him a manly man so he can protect Valerie properly." Rias thought about why Gasper had requested to be a "manly man." Kiba stared at Gasper, who was now wearing the boys' Kuoh uniform instead of his usual girls' uniform.
Valerie's voice came through the communicator, "I don't like what Oreki is doing to my precious Gasper."
"But I want to be manly, Valerie-neesan," Gasper said confidently, wanting to change for his sister's sake.
"Fine, fine," Valerie replied before going silent.
"Anyway, all three of you, stop talking and start walking to your destination," Rias reminded them.
The trio shouted, "Yes, your Lady!" and continued on their way.
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