(Issei's POV)
This was it. The day of the Rating Game.
The other club members and I were gathered in the old school building. We were waiting in our most relaxed positions. Everyone except Asia, who wore her nun outfit, was wearing their school uniform.
Kiba had a gauntlet on her hand and had some armour on her lower legs. She had her swords against the wall.
Koneko-chan was sitting on the chair and was reading a book. On her hands, she wore fingerless gloves. It's one of those gloves that martial artists wear. It looks pretty intense if a girl with a loli face wears it.
Akeno-san and Buchou wore it too and were drinking green tea elegantly. Just to be expected from our Onee-samas. Asia and I were sitting on the chair waiting quietly.
Ten minutes prior to the match, the magic circle glowed and Grayfia-san appeared.
"Is everyone ready? It's ten minutes before the match."
Everyone stood up after Grayfia-san confirmed us. Grayfia-san then started explaining about the battle.
"When it is time to start the battle, you will be transported to the battle field with this magic circle. The location of the place is in a different dimension used for battles. You may fight with all your power. It's a disposable space so feel free to fight to your satisfaction."
Haaa….. Is that how it is? A battle purpose field, huh. So devils can prepare something like that as well. Indeed if we fight in the humans' world or devils' world, we can't avoid destruction and may cause lots of effects. Then it means that we need a place there we won't harm anything no matter what we do. But leaving that aside, there's something that I'm concerned about.
"Ummm, Buchou?"
"What is it?"
"Buchou, you also have another Bishop right? Where is that person?"
"Unfortunately the other 'Bishop' can't participate. I will talk about that in the near future."
Buchou said it to me without looking at me in the eyes. Seems like there's something complicated about this matter. Maybe I should stop asking about this topic now. But what's so important that the "Bishop" can't appear for its master's important match? I couldn't get rid of my suspicions.
Grayfia-san then began to continue speaking. "This Rating Game battle will also be—"
That was when the light from the magic circle began glowing again.
"Waaaaaaaait!" A new figure came tripping out of the magic circle.
TAP TAP TAP
His feet bounced several times as he skidded as he began trying to stop himself. After he came to a complete stop, he wiped his forehead with his sleeve. "Phew. That was close. Note to self: Never go into a magic circle running." Then he looked around before noticing us. "Oh good! I'm just in time!"
We all blinked, slow to process the sudden appearance of this person.
"H-Haruto?"
My bro raised a hand, grinning as he greeted us. "Yo! What's up?"
"Haruto…"
"Haruto-san…"
"What are you wearing, Haruto?" Kiba was the one who finished the question.
My bro was wearing a vibrant red sleeved jacket with two long thin tails hanging from the back. Under it was a black shirt with three red belts, the buckles of the belts possessing a strange symbol on them…I think it had something to do with Leviathan. He wore a pair of black gloves with a red shell on the backs of the hands. Underneath it all, he wore a black hakama and steel-toed red boots. Emblazoned on cufflinks at the end of his sleeves were the same symbol that was one his buckles.
Haruto just blinked. "What do you mean? Serafall picked this outfit for me. Not my style exactly, but Serafall said it looked good on me. Something wrong with it?"
"Nothing!" I snorted.
"Yeah…" Buchou agreed, covering her mouth to suppress a smile. "You look great, Ragna."
Haruto cocked his head sideways. Ah. I guess he never played Blazblue, so he wouldn't know that he was almost a perfect spitting image of Ragna the Bloodedge but with Jin Kisarag's blonde hair.
"What are you doing here, Haruto-san?" Asia seemed both surprised yet excited and relieved to see Haruto here.
Haruto rubbed the back of his neck, turning to Grayfia-san and bowing slightly. "Forgive me for the intrusion, Grayfia-sama."
"What is your purpose here, Queen of Leviathan-sama?" There was no harshness in Grayfia-san's voice—Wait. When did Haruto start calling her "Grayfia-sama".
Haruto raised his head, still maintaining a respectful appearance before Grayfia-san. "My apologies, Grayfia-sama. In order to better represent my master, Leviathan-sama, I have requested to aid you in your duties regarding the Rating Game. As a fellow Queen of a Maou-sama, I do hope you can respect this." Haruto spoke with such refinement and calmness that it was hard to believe he was the same person from before. Then he rubbed the back of his neck. "I meant to come here earlier, but er… I kinda overshot that teleportation spell and ended up on the other side of town. I'll tell ya. Never try using a teleportation spell with a magic circle unless you have a skilled magic-user around! Hahahahahaha!" We (minus Grayfia-san) all sweatdropped at how Haruto immediately lost all sense of seriousness.
"Haruto-sama." Grayfia-san said, trying to get back our attention. It seemed weird how Haruto was calling Grayfia "Grayfia-sama" and Grayfia-san was calling Haruto "Haruto-sama". Who held the superior position? Was Haruto just messing with Grayfia-san? What is up with that? "I appreciate your desire to represent your master, but your presence is acting more as interference."
"Ah, but representing my master is not my only reason for being here." Haruto admitted. Then he turned to the rest of us. "Listen, I know you guys have a lot riding on this. Hell, we all do, but I want you guys to know that I believe in you. Don't let the pressure crush you. This is just like any other battle thus far. The Gremory group does not fall before any enemy. Give it your all and I know you can win. I have faith in you all. And Issei." Huh? "Catch." Haruto pulled something from his pocket and threw it to me.
Eh?
I caught the object Haruto threw in both of my hands. When I opened them, I saw a familiar, red stuffed toy.
Devi-kun. One of the three mementos left by Haruto's mother, Namikaze Minako. One of them went missing since as far back as Haruto could remember. The third one, Haruto gave to a person whom he cared for deeply. That person who moved away when we were little. This was a treasure Haruto cared for as much as his own life. He had lost it during his imprisonment at the hands of Raynare's group, but I managed to return it to him later on after we rescued him. Why was he giving me this?
"Issei, I want you to carry that with you during the fight." Haruto requested of me. "As long as you carry it, I'll be with you. For you, Rias, and myself: Kick Riser's stuck-up rear!"
Haruto…That's right. Even if you're not on the battlefield, you'll still be with us in a way. I'll deck Riser for both of us!
"If that matter is resolved, may I continue?" Grayfia-san only seemed ever-so-slighted at the matter of Haruto essentially causing us to forget her presence.
"Please do, Grayfia-sama." Haruto agreed without missing a step.
Grayfia-sama cleared her throat before continuing with her previous speech.
"This Rating Game battle will also be viewed by members of both households from a different location by broadcast."
Are you serious? So they will be watching us. So they are going to view us like VIP members, huh. Seems like their parents are having fun. Since Buchou's parents are watching it as well I can't show them an unsightly scene.
"Also the Maou Lucifer-sama will also be viewing this battle. Please do not forget about it."
Maou!? Maou-sama!? Wow I'm feeling nervous. Even our king is looking at our match!? Is this match that important? Buchou then made a shocked face.
"Onii-sama is…. Is that so… So Onii-sama is also going to view this battle."
Huh…? I think I heard it wrong…. What did Buchou just say? O…Onii-sama…? I got confused so I put my hand up and asked.
"Ummm….. Just now Buchou called Maou-sama 'Onii-sama'… Did I hear wrong?"
But Kiba answered me straight away.
"No. Buchou's Onii-sama is a Maou-sama."
Wha…
"Maou!? Buchou's Onii-sama is a Maou-sama!"
"Yes."
Buchou confirmed it straight away.
"Are you really surprised, Issei?" Haruto questioned. "I mean, we already know that Sitri-senpai's sister is Serafall Leviathan. Does another girl at our school being the younger sister of another Maou really surprise you?"
When he says it like that, I feel like an idiot.
Then I remembered the explanation that Sona-Kaichou gave us after Haruto was rescued from the Fallen Angels. The previous Maou died in the Great War between the three factions. In order to fill the void so the Devils didn't end up powerless, the Devils selected four new, equally powerful Devils to attempt to fill at least four of the seven gaps left behind. Lucifer-sama, Leviathan-sama (Haruto's King), Beelzebub-sama, and Asmodeus-sama. These positions were filled while the positions of Belphegor, Mammon, and (let it not be forgotten) Satan were left unfilled. Satan was the guy who was behind the creation of the Devils. Back during training, when Buchou had been teaching us, she told us that Satan-sama was something like a God to the Devils. A Devil God. His position was left empty more as a sort of religious respect than a lack of candidates.
"So Buchou's brother was chosen to be a Maou from the Ultimate-Class Devils then?"
Kiba nodded at my question. "Sirzechs Lucifer is also known as 'Crimson Satan'. He is Buchou's Onii-sama and the most powerful Maou-sama."
Sirzechs Lucifer….. Not a "Gremory" but a "Lucifer"… So he isn't referred by his family name anymore.
"…..That's why Buchou has to inherit the house." Not just her, but Sona-Kaichou as well. They must have a lot of pressure on their shoulders due to not only being the younger siblings of the Maou-samas, but also having no choice but to be the heiresses of their households.
Her brother became a Maou. Then it can't be helped, since her brother has to carry the world of the Devils on his back. Amazing. Even Buchou's family is amazing…
"OK, now that that lesson on the political world of Devils is complete, let's get a move on." Haruto clapped his hands, urging us to get going. "Chop-chop. In the magic circle everybody. You gotta go teach a stupid Yakitori-kun a lesson. Go. Go now." We did as asked, gathering in the magic circle.
"Also once you get transported, you cannot use the magic circle until the game ends."
So we return here only after the outcome. The magic circle's symbol changed to another one which is not that of the Gremory's and glowed. It's also not the symbol of Phenex. Maybe it's the one for the game? While I was thinking about it, the light covered us and the transportation started.