Trying to make the process of introducing a new member as smooth as possible was likely something she hadn't even needed to think about. It was automatic.
The possibility of Issei rejecting her or entering denial, which is always possible when telling normal humans about the supernatural, had likely been a nightmare scenario for her.
So she instead was willing to wait months in order to optimize the chance of such a thing not happening. Still didn't make it any less stupid though.
Approaching Rias' back, Akeno laid a comforting hand on her shoulder before saying, "It's okay, Rias. I won't lie and say what you did wasn't stupid, but everyone is stupid once in a while. No need to beat yourself up over it."
"I may have just lost my only chance to marry a person I love because I was shy. That's a good reason to beat myself up about," Rias' whispered, no doubt holding back tears.
Akeno really didn't know how to respond to that, so she just hugged Rias softly. The best she could do was try and show Rias she was there for her, no matter how bad things look. After a few moments of this, Rias asked, "What should I do, Akeno?"
Akeno blinked in shock before asking, "You're asking me?"
"I don't see why not. I've done a pretty good job of botching things up. I'm a complete failure as a king. If you asked me two years ago, I would have declared confidently that most of my peerage would have been filled by this point.
That they'd all be well trained and powerful Ready to defeat Riser. Instead I have…this," Rias stated in a bitter voice. She then gave a weak laugh, cracking halfway through due to her emotion.
Akeno decided to ignore the possible insult. She knew Rias didn't mean it like that. Rias considered all of them her family, and loved them. It was the idea that she only had four peerage members, one that had to be sealed away for his own safety.
Considering she had been preparing and planning for two years to eventually face Riser, her efforts have not borne much fruit.
After a few seconds of weak sobs, Rias recovered enough to finish, "Seems like anyone can do better than me right now, and you are way better than a random person. So I don't see why not."
Akeno nodded gravely. Rias had always been certain in her abilities, but this seems to have created a crack in her usual confidence.
A crack that had likely been forming for months as the deadline with Riser approached. This incident was the last straw.
So now she's looking around her for help, which is actually good. She's not giving up or trying to stand by herself. When weak, its better to lean a bit on your friends. That's what they are for, after all.
So Akeno lead the now outright crying Rias back to her chair. She then pulled out a tissue and gently dabbed at her eyes.
Thankfully Rias didn't wear mascara or makeup, so she didn't need to worry about that sort of mess. Once Rias' tears stopped flowing, Akeno stood and started to make two cups of tea.
She then gave one to the hiccupping and shaking Rias before sitting opposite her with her own cup. She then waited till Rias took a few sips. The tea did its job in calming Rias down slightly.
Placing her own tea down, Akeno started seriously, "If I am going to give you advice then I am going to be completely honest, Rias…Right now, Sona has proven herself a far superior king than you."
That made Rias flinch. Sure, she had been expecting something like that. Even asked for it. Still didn't make it any easier to hear. Sona was her rival, despite also being her friend. To hear that she had lost to her rival so bluntly was not a good feeling.
Akeno continued on though, explaining, "It isn't do to your personal power or ability or anything. It's simply a matter of the method in which you both gathered your peerage.
To be blunt Rias, you did almost nothing. Myself, Koneko, Yuuto, and Gasper. We all fell right into your lap by coincidence, and you simply took advantage. That seems to have colored your expectations though.
You have been waiting for it to happen again. For a sacred gear holder, youkai, devil, or whatever to fall into your lap. Even Issei. You knew about him, but it wasn't enough for him to go to our school. You wanted some perfect event.
For him to be killed by the fallen angels, and you come to the rescue. You have been waiting for some big opportunity to fall into your lap."
"Now let's think about how Sona went about gathering a peerage. She didn't wait. She carefully evaluated the students in this school who had magical potential.
She then recruited the one's with the most, resolving to train them up over time. She didn't wait for already competent candidates to appear. She calculated who could eventually become a competent peerage member, and then set about making them achieve that potential.
While you waited for opportunities to appear, she actively worked to create her own opportunities. Thinking about it, her choice to recruit Issei was not only logical, but expected.
To her, your choice to wait for a better opportunity to recruit him must have been infuriating. In her mind, if you weren't going to take advantage of this opportunity, she might as well.
That she waited six months is actually the unexpected part. I would have guessed she'd have only given you half that time."
"So the answer to your earlier question about what you should do. You need to change your method, Rias. You can't wait for some hero or savior to appear. You have to work at improving your peerage.
Put in a true effort," Akeno declared bluntly. She then elaborated, "We'll use our familiars to scout out any possible talent. Anyone that has above average magical potential.