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Occult Research Clubroom, Kuō Academy
"Well, that went better than I was expecting, he was far more open than I'd hoped." Rias Gremory mused as Akeno served her and Sona tea.
"Indeed, and we were able to learn for more than what I'd originally hoped." The Sitri Heiress agreed before taking a sip of her tea. Akeno really was talented at making Black Tea, with an almost equal talent for crafting the delicate Sencha that was resting on a small plate nearby. "I think mentioning your…predicament…helped get him to open up far more than he would have otherwise."
It was a part of human nature, people tended to be more open and trusting toward people they were sympathetic for. A low blow some would call, but they were Devils dealing with a complete unknown, their morals were rather more…flexible than a human's.
The Crimson Haired Ruin Princess scowled at the reminder of her 'fiancé' before taking a sip of tea herself. "Yes, I imagine it did." before a positively devilish smirk crossed her lips. "Besides, our new friend did provide some rather interesting ideas on how to deal with it, didn't he?"
Sona smirked, no fonder of the perverted rake than Rias was. "I suppose he did. Still, the encounter with him provided quite a few interesting points of data as well." The bespectacled Devil added, adjusting her glasses thoughtfully. "First off, that our red-armoured friend is born and raised locally. He pointed out where he was attacked without even glancing in the direction, which implies a deep understanding of the local geography that only a local, or at least a long-term resident, would have. He's also about our age, based on his height, attitude, and speech patterns; plus the fact that the most common time for Sacred Gears to awaken is in the holder's teens, if they awaken at all."
Sacred Gears did not simply manifest before their holders at random; either they were awoken in times of great need or at times when the wielder honestly and truly desired power from the very depths of their heart. An alternative method was when they were awakened as a result of the holder being reincarnated into a Devil via the Evil Piece system. Ajuka Beelzebub liked to think ahead, as it was more than slightly possible that a human could be reincarnated as a Devil without awakening their Sacred Gear, so he had added that function to his Evil Pieces.
It was widely known that the Maō Beelzebub had placed numerous 'hidden' systems into his masterwork, the Evil Piece system, and had left it up to the [Kings] and other pieces to discover what they were. Several had been discovered and become common knowledge over the intervening decades and centuries, but there were still dozens of others that remained nothing more than rumour or speculation.
Ajuka himself was remaining tight-lipped on the subject, never confirming or denying any rumour presented to him, and only confirming that there were still systems left that hadn't been discovered yet. The man seemed to view the research and experimentation that many young Devils went through to uncover more of those secrets as both an important exercise in helping them learn to think and experiment and as a thoroughly enjoyable form of entertainment.
He really had a bad sense of humour.
"Sona, we're not trying to discover his identity as of yet." Rias calmly reminded her friend. "Besides, that still doesn't narrow things down by much. There are at least three other highschools in Kuō, each with at least a hundred students our age."
"True, but we can keep an eye out for anyone lingering in the areas where the Ratman Burrows used to be…" Akeno said with a frown.
"I doubt he would bother with them." Sona shook her head. "No ratmen there, so no need for him to go near the places anymore."
"Hmm. True enough." The Priestess of Thunder conceded.
A familiar sensation in the air made the three Devils pause. Then Rias sighed. "Looks as if our friend is going after another location involving these 'Purifiers' that he neglected to mention to us." she stated, a small frown of annoyance crossing her lips.
"To be strictly accurate, we asked him to tell us about the Purifiers in general, not specific locations where they were based." Sona reminded her. "He seems determined that, as a human resident of this town with a Sacred Gear, it is up to him to deal with any human threats that pop up in Kuō that have anything to do with the supernatural world, aside from members of the Church or the Grigori. That responsibility technically falls onto our shoulders instead of his, but I doubt he cares much at the moment."
"From what I've seen, he seems to take what the Purifiers are doing personally. No…" Akeno shook her head thoughtfully, tilting it slightly as she looked for the right words. "More like he's…outraged? Yes, he's outraged at what they're doing. What should we do, Buchou?"
Rias waved a hand in mild irritation, resignation on her face. "Leave him for now. If he finds anything that he feels we need to know, he'll doubtless find a way of contacting us. He wants us to be hands off in dealing with this particular matter? Fine. We'll be hands off until he gets in over his head, and then we'll go in and save his rear, hopefully earning a bit more trust and goodwill in the process."
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