Oh make no mistake he'd ended up playing loads of video games during his other requests, especially whenever he filled in for one of Koneko or Asia's, but those were typically because he couldn't really fulfill their client's original wishes, which strangely enough seemed to revolve mostly around cosplay (shudder) and so he'd been forced to settle for either marathoning anime series he normally wouldn't care for or playing video games until he could see the individual pixels in his sleep.
And just why was this Mid-20-something foreigner relying on a teenage Devil for company? Issei had absolutely no doubts as to his sexual preference but even he could tell that, unlike Kiba, who girls fawned over for his 'pretty boy' face and gentlemanly manner, his regular had the kind of 'rugged bad-boy' charm that could only be obtained from experience courting mature women. By all rights, if he wanted a drinking partner he could walk into any bar or hostess club and have his pick.
Oh well, it wasn't up to Issei to reason why. If the man valued his companionship that much then who was Issei to argue? Not only that, but the guy was apparently loaded to the gills despite never wearing anything other than a dusty old men's kimono, as evidenced by the fact he lived in one of the few actual western mansions in Kuoh City and often payed for Issei's services with expensive gifts in lieu of cash.
A prime example of this was the rare painting he received for his first job, which had ended with him keeping the man company as he drank. Rias had gotten the piece examined by a critic affiliated with her family in order to verify it's worth and ensure her 'precious subordinate' hadn't gotten shafted, so you could probably imagine the look on her face when it turned out he'd been paid with a missing masterpiece from the Louvre that had gone missing sometime during World War II.
To put it simply, the painting was worth more than Issei was likely to ever earn in his lifetime, both in terms of cash and in terms of value to the world of art, and the man had only continued to impress, his subsequent payments including rare jewels, precious tomes, and even gold nuggets! Seriously! How much wealth could one guy have that he just threw away lumps of pure gold like it was pocket change?!
As such, despite her earlier misgivings, Rias had officially encouraged her pawn to accept any and all requests from the man for the foreseeable future, especially given how he only ever seemed to request Issei, no matter which other members of her peerage were available. Hell, it had even gotten to the point where he'd requested Issei's phone number to bypass the summoning ritual altogether, though Rias had made certain that Issei got the man to stamp the satisfaction forms regardless.
Still, there was a limit to what even a high-value customer could get away with, and Issei swore if he had to go shopping for limited edition bread at the nearby store in the middle of the night again he was going to lodge a formal complaint. Low-ranked or not he was supposed to be a proud Devil, a member of Rias Gremory's Peerage, the current Red Dragon Emperor and the man who would become the undisputed Harem King! Not some God (OW!) Damned errand boy!
"I see, looks like you've had a rough time of things." His client mused, smiling enigmatically as his car proceeded to pass Issei's despite the pawn's attempts to cut him off "Well, that just means we've got to make up for the time we've missed, right?"
"You got it!" Issei grinned, the two of them sharing a laugh before turning their attention back to the race on screen "Still, I can't believe you called me out to play video games of all things."
"What can I say?" his client chuckled, his eyes never leaving the screen even as he somehow managed to manipulate his cart while stroking his goatee"Our trip to the arcade last session really got me hooked."
"I'll say…" Issei deadpanned, one eye roaming over the multitude of gaming consoles, both retro and cutting-edge, that took up the majority of the far wall. Hell, there was even a customized gaming computer off to the side, the tower looming over the rest of the room like a black obelisk "You don't do things by half, do you?"
"What can I say, I've always been something of an avid collector." The old man admitted with a wry smirk "Truth be told, I tend to get a bit fanatical whenever something catches my interest, it's actually a bad habit of mine."
'Huh…now that I think about it, didn't I hear something like that a while back?' Issei wondered, his eyes narrowing in confusion as he tried to place the memory 'Who were we talking about again…?"
"Ah, looks like I've got the gist of things now." His client mused, snapping the pawn out of his thoughts just long enough to see his racer passed by the older man's "You snooze you lose, Devil-Kun!"
"No way!" Issei yelped, the pawn's fingers a literal blur as he fought to reclaim the lead, only to slump in defeat as he watched his racer cross the finish line seconds behind his opponent's, his fledgling pride in his gaming skills plummeting as the words YOU ARE LOSE blazed across his half of the screen "My perfect win-streak…" he sobbed, "Dammit, how're you so good for a first-timer?"
"Don't take it too-hard, Devil-kun." The older man chuckled, patting the dispirited Pawn reassuringly on the back, his tone only half-teasing, as evident by the twinkle in his eyes "You can't win 'em all after all."
"Dammit! I demand a rematch!" Issei exclaimed, his pride as a gamer triggered by what he perceived as the older man's condescending tone. Client or no client, nobody looked down on the future Harem King and got away with it! "C'mon! Best two out of three!"
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