Rias Gremory's POV
It had been a year since the day she met Issei—her newest pawn and, surprisingly, the host of one of the two powerful Heavenly Dragons: Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor. At first, she thought it was a waste that his reincarnation required eight Evil Pieces. But once the truth was revealed, everything changed. More importantly, he had become one of the people she cherished most—second only to her family.
She had been desperate for a solution when Riser suddenly visited Kuoh Academy and reminded her of their political engagement. Rias had hoped for more time to find a way out of it, but her parents pushed the engagement forward. She refused to be tied to someone rumored to treat women unfairly. Rias wanted to follow her heart, like the heroines in her favorite romance manga—not become a mere political tool.
So, in her desperation, she came up with a reckless plan: maybe if Riser thought she was no longer pure, he'd break off the engagement. Fortunately, despite his perversions, Issei had the common sense to stop her before things escalated. Still, the situation only worsened when Riser injured Issei, and Rias was forced to agree to the engagement to ensure his safety.
But on the day of her engagement, Issei and her Peerage members crashed the party and challenged Riser to a one-on-one duel.
She thought he was being reckless... but to her surprise, Issei won—defeating Riser and proving himself in front of her family. He even declared that her breasts belonged to him, something unbelievably embarrassing... but she let it slide. After all, the engagement was broken, and more importantly, it was then that she realized the feelings she'd been harboring weren't those of a master toward her servant—they were something deeper.
Real love.
So when Issei later asked her to look into the disappearance of his close friend, she did everything she could. And yet—nothing. It was strange. How could a human just vanish without a trace, especially in her own territory? She couldn't bear to tell him she had failed, so she kept searching. Eventually, Issei accepted that she had done her best. He didn't blame her—but she saw through his attempts to mask his disappointment with his usual antics. She felt like she'd failed him—not just as his Master, but also as his girlfriend.
And then—today—his supposedly missing friend was suddenly sitting next to Issei in the Occult Research Club.
Even more surprising, her devil instincts were screaming that this person was dangerous. That shouldn't be possible. Issei had told her he was an ordinary human, and the background information she had confirmed it. But it wasn't just her who was on edge—her entire Peerage could feel it too.
Rias turned her eyes toward Koneko. Her Rook hadn't stopped glaring at the boy—Kousuke—with a deep frown. He simply smiled back when he met her gaze. Akeno, her Queen, appeared calm as always, but Rias could sense she was prepared to strike if necessary.
"I'm sorry for the sudden intrusion," Kousuke said casually. "I didn't expect my friend to be telling the truth. Still, I apologize if he caused any trouble, especially with his... perversion."
"What the hell? I'm not such a troublemaker that you need to apologize for me!" Issei protested.
"Well, the last time you told me you chose this academy specifically so you could admire all the boobs—"
"Hey, hey, hey! That was bro code! That was supposed to stay between us!"
Seeing the two of them banter put Rias slightly at ease... but not entirely. The circumstances of Kousuke's disappearance were too strange. What if the person in front of them wasn't Issei's friend at all—but something wearing his skin?
She couldn't shake her suspicions. No normal human would radiate such unease to a room full of devils.
"Kousuke, was it?" she said cautiously. "I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but... what exactly happened? Why did you disappear for a whole year?"
"Ah... I don't think anyone would believe me. Even my parents still have trouble accepting it."
"Stop being so mysterious about it!" Issei interjected. "Do you know how long I waited for you that day? I got scolded for being late!"
"Fine, fine. I'll tell you. Listen carefully," Kousuke said, his tone suddenly dropping. His face turned deadly serious—and instantly, the mood in the clubroom grew heavy. "Actually... I was summoned to another world."
"""..."""
"Are you for real?"
"Absolutely."
"Man, if you didn't want to tell us, just say so! No need to feed us some Isekai crap!"
"I'm telling the truth. Believe it or not, that's up to you." Kousuke shrugged at Issei's disbelief.
Even Rias—an actual devil who had a brother as actual Satan—felt a little silly for almost believing him. There was no such thing as an Isekai. She'd read plenty of manga about that kind of thing... but reality was far less exciting. At best, she knew of dimensional realms like the Underworld and Heaven—and if he had gone to the latter, he would have to be dead. If he had appeared in the former, she would have known about it.
"Still, I can't believe he could score someone as pretty as you, Miss Gremory."
"Just call me Rias—you're Issei's close friend, after all. But thank you for the compliment."
"So, how far did he go? Have you two... done the deed yet?"
"T-That is..." Rias immediately became flustered at his forwardness. She found herself looking downward, unable to remain calm under his teasing gaze. It was akin to facing her Queen. As far as his question went, she had only allowed Issei to touch her breasts—and that was for special occasions, like breaking her engagement!
"Judging by your reaction, he's been stalling, huh? Dude, what kind of man are you?" Kousuke teased, pulling Issei into a headlock and grinding his knuckles into his temple.
"Ouch! C-Can we change the topic? This is embarrassing!"
"Y-Yes, I agree with Issei." Rias quickly followed up. She felt just as embarrassed as him—and more than a little awkward discussing her relationship in front of her Peerage members.
"My, but things just got a little more interesting, don't you think?" Akeno said with a knowing smile. Rias recognized that smile—it wasn't a kind one, that's for sure.
"Indeed. How long have you two been together? A few months? Then surely you've kissed, right?"
Kousuke and Akeno exchanged a glance, and at that moment, it felt as if a new bond had been formed between them—one forged from shared sadism.
Unbeknownst to them, the tense atmosphere inside the clubroom had completely dissipated. Even Koneko had stopped glaring at Kousuke and was now quietly munching on cookies in the corner. Rias, too, had let her guard down, trying her best to steer the conversation elsewhere.
She really didn't want to be the butt of their teasing any longer.