- Shin –
Serafall Leviathan is like a kid on a perpetual sugar rush, I know that this is her façade but still you have got to hand it to her. She maintains it too damn well.
So when we arrived in the middle of the Student Council room in a flash of Magic Circle, I was a bit taken aback at the sight of her glomping Sona right off the bat.
It was honestly fun to see Sona become a stuttering mess and flustered like a kid. After the initial drama is over, she introduces us to each other.
"Sona-tan, this is Shin-kun. He is also a cute bookworm like you, not as cute as you though, my Sona-tan is the cutest." Another try to glomp Sona interrupts the introductions once again.
"Hello, my name is Shin Kageyami. Nice to meet you, Sitri-san. Serafall-sama has told me a lot about you."
"Boo Shin-kun, call me Miracle Levia-tan." Yup, she keeps that act up really well.
"Hello, Kageyami-san. Nice to meet you too. I am really sorry about my sister's behavior. She sometimes doesn't act like a respectable Satan or even a responsible adult. I hope you don't mind it. She doesn't mean any harm."
The roles are reversed. Are you sure that Sona wasn't secretly the older sister? I mean Serafall even looks younger if you don't consider her breasts. Yup, they are adult all right.
"No, no, it is actually fun and quite refreshing to talk with Serafall-sama. I enjoy it."
+2 Affection with Sona Stiri (2/100) for being tolerant to her older sister.
"Okay Sona-tan, onee-sama needs to meet Rias-chan now. Have some important things to discuss. I will come to meet you soon, bye-bye. Come on Shin-kun." Serafall says before she takes off by herself.
The sight of the students looking at a girl dressed in a Magical Girl costume in the middle of school and just accepting it was more than a bit weird. It took me a moment to realize that she had cast a spell on us to make us blend in.
We soon arrived in front of an old building which could give any haunted house in those movies a run for their money. This is the base of Rias Gremory's peerage. The Occult Research Club.
Entering the building after Serafall, I find that the interior of the building is much cleaner than what one would expect of the exterior. Then again, for me who has memories of Hogwarts, this is not much of a change.
We soon arrive at a bog wooden door, which was opened by Serafall who doesn't seem to give a crap about anyone's privacy. Well she is strong enough not to care. Her problem, not mine.
"Serafall-sama, why are you here all of a sudden? Is everything alright?" a sweet bell-like voice tickles my ears.
"Rias-chan, how are you? I came to visit you and Sona-tan but she is being a meanie and doesn't want to give her onee-sama a hug or kiss, not even a yuri-yuri situation between the two of us. Please helllllllp."
What the fuck, a yuri-yuri situation? Damn, she really is hardcore.
Even if I knew what Serafall is like, I couldn't help but feel my jaw drop a little which was followed by an extreme urge to do something….which I did. I…..laughed. For the first time since reincarnating in this world I laughed really hard. "Seriously, a yuri-yuri situation….hahahaha…..maybe Sona-san is a bit shy. You should try asking her in private. Better chances that way." I suggest, giving her a thumbs up while still struggling with my laughter.
"You think so, Shin-kun? Maybe Sona-tan doesn't want others to hear about her secret fantasies and gets all shy and cute because of that. Okay, I'll go and ask her everything in private. She can be such a tsundere. See you later, Shin-kun. Take your time." And with that she ditched me without any explanations as she disappeared with a flash of her magic circle.
Damn, she one upped me here. Not all bad though. I could still use this situation to have a private conversation with Rias without Serafall staring at me like a hawk trying to look under every word I say.
"So, uuh, hello, I'm Shin Kageyami. Nice to meet you. Does this happen often?" I ask Rias pointing at Serafall who just disappeared.
I can see that she was a bit tense. So she knows about it already. Good for me I guess. I don't have to say unnecessary things then.
"Yes, hello. I am Rias Gremory, the Heiress to the House of Gremory, Ranked Duke. Nice to meet you Shin-san." Wow, this is all that pureblood shit all over again. Although I didn't encounter it myself, the memories in this body are enough to make me cringe a little at such an introduction.
"Um, I am not that big on the formality thing. I hope you don't mind. I actually wanted to just meet and talk to you for a bit. This whole marriage thing kind of sprung up on me all of a sudden and I haven't had the time to fully accept this fact yet. In fact the first time I even heard your name was this morning, so I hope you can understand if I am a bit out of it for a while."
"You didn't know about the Marriage contract?" she asks me with a disbelieving tone of voice. Can't blame her. The situation is just that weird.
"No, I was brought to the underworld, well more like I followed Zekram there, and after reaching his castle I was told that I have a marriage contract with someone. Hell, I don't even know what was in that letter." I reply, shrugging my shoulders a bit. I should have read the letter…then again I seriously doubt I could even open it if Death didn't want me to.
"Oh, so you were caught unaware too. Do you… want to marry me? I don't know what this situation is about anyway, but I doubt I could refuse. This seems much more complicated than it looks." she says while letting out a sigh. She didn't even ask me who or what the letter was about. Is she that trusting? Or is she not even considering trusting me? Damn this girl is confusing.
"I guessed as much and that's why when I found who you were today, I requested to have a meeting with you. I was told that you were already engaged to someone and didn't know if I was coming between you two. I wouldn't want to force myself between two people if they like each other"
Yeah right.
Shut it game, not now, I'm trying to act here.
+5 Affection with Rias Gremory(0/100) for thinking about her choice.
Wait what, 0. Fuck so she already disliked me because of the marriage contract. Damn, close save there. Secretly using the Medium and Normal Heart crystal I have saved from my recent runs, I make her Affection rise up to +25. Am I cheating by doing this? Yes. I am a Gamer, and Gamers cheat.
Heart crystals can't raise someone's affection beyond +25. So I can't just spam them on a hot milf and bring her home. A bummer, but understandable. That would just be bad game design.
The effects are visible too, I can see her eyes softening up when she looks at me and the next time she speaks, her voice is warmer too.
"No, no, you don't have to worry about that. I don't have any positive feelings for 'that' person." Wow, that 'that' made me shiver even in my seat. The saying that hell hath no wrath like a woman scorned holds some meaning after all. "I have been trying to find a method to break the engagement myself. You don't need to worry about coming between anyone." Aw, she is really desperate to get away from Riser, isn't she?
"Good, at least one of my worries is out of the way. Now for the other one, I would like to get to know about you a bit. If I am going to marry someone I'd rather take it seriously. After all it's not something you do on just a whim…at least not if you are not drunk in a casino in Vegas, those things are just weird. Anyways back to the topic, would you mind if we get to know each other a bit before continuing any further?" I state in a serious tone of voice, as I watch her lighten up a bit at that.
+5 Affection with Rias Gremory (30/100) for wanting to get to know her.
Fuck yeah, who said playing galges all those nights was a waste of time. In your face bitches. This is a real life galge and I am acing it.
Still, she is kinda naïve for a Devil. Sona would have doubted me if I had done this to her or at least kept a much sharper eye on me. Another thing to watch out for. Rias and Sona are close friends so I don't want Rias to babble something to Sona and make her doubt me instead. Food for thought.
As we were chatting, a magic circle appeared in the middle of the room. Crimson coloured and out of it comes…..wow those are big.
"Ara ara, do we have a guest President? If I had known, I would have brought some treats." No no no no no, you yourself are a treat Akeno, no need to go anywhere for getting anything.
"He is Shin Kageyami. He has come here to meet and have a chat with me." she says, signaling something to Akeno with her eyes. Now what plan is this Devil concocting? I can feel them communicating something with their eyes but I ignore it, or at least pretend to ignore it. I could always use the situation to my advantage if I get a chance.
"Nice to meet you Shin-sama. I didn't know you were going to arrive so I was not present to greet you. You have my heartfelt apologies for it" wow she went from a tease to a noble lady all of a sudden.
I look at her weirdly and check around her for something for a bit. Nope, she doesn't have anything like that.
"What are you looking for Shin-san?" Rias asks me, curiosity lacing her voice.
"I was checking if she had something like a Millennium Puzzle or something similar on her. That change in personality was definitely not normal." I reply with a serious tone of voice. She chuckles at that and I can see Akeno's lips twitch a little. Yup, throw her off the game with stupid comments and then attack her where it hurts. These big sister types need a certain tactic to win over.
"Please, don't call me –sama or lord or something. I don't like serious things like that if it's not binding." 'You could always call me 'Master' or any other kinky titles that you like. I am all up for it.' I add that last part in my mind.
"So what are your hobbies Shin? What do you want to become? Tell me something about yourself, family, friends and stuff." Rias relaxes a bit. That +30 affection is doing wonders for her mental state around me.
"Answering your questions in order, I like reading, learning magic and playing chess. I am not really sure what I want to become. I am new to this for now, I guess I will look around and decide later. As for my family and friends..." here I put all my acting skills to full throttle before replying "The only person I considered my family, my godfather, passed away a week ago. As for the people who gave birth to me, they are just that and not my family. I'd rather not share this information with anyone but I don't think hiding things about me from you will be fair to you considering our current situation. I do have a few people I could call friends. Recently Sairaorg has been a good friend to me. So that's it for me. Your turn now Rias."
And that left them in a somber yet intrigued state of mind. I know it makes me seem emo but it is actually for the better. They will probably try to investigate me and in turn find out about the things that they are curious about rather than what my current plans are. Diverting their attention is a better choice here so they don't stick their nose where it could be inconvenient for me. If they find out about James and his ilk, I might even gain some affection and sympathy points depending on how I play the situation.
"I am sorry to remind you of such unpleasant things. As for me, I like Japan and things in this country, my peerage and my friends here. I want to make the strongest peerage and compete in the rating games and prove myself to everyone. My best friends are Sona and Akeno, whom you have already met." Good she is opening up a bit to me. I doubt she would say even a part of it to Riser, so that is a plus for me.
We keep on chatting for a while, she tells me more about the underworld and I listen to her, adding some points and asking questions in between. Overall it was nice having a peaceful chat. She then takes me out to show me around the academy and I have to agree, this place is beautiful. Akeno follows us quietly.
"This academy is quite beautiful." I say not lying about it for once.
"Yes. How was your school?" she asks a bit curious, probably wanting to know about me and my life.
"Well, certainly not as bright and homely as this. It was an old medieval castle with a giant three-headed dog and thousand year old basilisks around on a yearly basis. We even had Dragons about a year ago." I smirk at the stupidity that was Hogwarts, the so-called safest place in the world. Safest place my ass.
She chuckles at my reply until she looks at my unamused face and her eyes widen a bit at the implications of my words. "Wait, you were serious about that? What kind of place does that? A Cerberus of all things?" and she reacts like every sane person would react to it.
"Oh no, Fluffy was basically alright if you didn't disturb his sleep. It was Sevvy, the basilisk that was a bitch. And as for the school, it was the so-called 'safest place in the world'. No it was not." I whisper the last part to myself.
"Fluffy? You named a Cerberus….. Fluffy?" she asks, looking at me like I was insane. Not that I blame her, I would look at myself the same way if I actually did that. Hagrid is just….. unique.
"He was the Groundskeeper's pet. And no, I have better things to do than naming a three-headed dog who could bite my head off by accident. 'Fluffy' of all things. These kinds of things were the reason I ran away from that place as soon as I could, leaving my education incomplete." Yeah, and a certain manipulative old coot, James, the fake and Tom being the others. "Damn, that reminds me that I have to get admitted to a different school."
"I…..can't blame you for that. I am just amazed that you stayed that long or that your, umm... 'guardians' allowed you to."
While we were talking about random things, I saw one of the targets I was looking for being chased by girls with shinai's in their hands. As they pass by us, I secretly use my 'Create Shadow Servant' skill and let it slip in Issei's shadow. Our shadows were connected so it wasn't noticed by anyone, still I diverted their attention to myself by asking the obvious question. "What is going on here?"
For her part, she looks slightly embarrassed while explaining the matter to me.
"So they don't get disciplinary actions taken against them? Hell, why does no one seal that hole from where they peek?" I ask the obvious yet again.
"Well, Sona gave them a chance and it will be bad for the school's image if something like this happens." She is dismissing the subject. Oh, she doesn't want me to know about Issei's sacred gear. Too bad for her, he is already my target.
She showed me around Kuoh Academy after that and boy were they right about the stares of the students being a pain. The boys were staring daggers, swords, spears, arrows and whatever else they could at me while the girls were already making weird fantasies. I know I am now much better looking than before but seriously- wait what the fuck was that about Me and Kiba being together. These fujoshi's are crazy I tell you, absolutely crazy.
I even asked her to show me around Akihabara sometimes, to which she agreed whole-heartedly. When I told her that we had no access to anime in my previous school, she looked at me with an expression Naruto would have if someone told him that ramen was banned in Konoha, after which she gave me some of her own collection of anime to watch.
Overall today was quite productive. I even got Akeno's reputation to 5 and Rias was at 35 by the time Serafall took me back.