The Student Council is the Academy's student body and its highest authority. Led by Sona Sitri and Tsubaki Shinra, it holds enough authority to dismiss and appoint the Academy's director or any teacher because the devils are the true masters of this town and academy.
Inside the student council room, a young woman sat at the desk. She was bespectacled with a slim figure, black hair styled in a short bob cut, and violet eyes. Her figure was quite modest, small bust and a slim waist, but she looked very cute despite her serious expression.
"Sona-sama, the man I talked about will not disappoint your expectations. He is very talented," Tsubaki said from across the desk. She wore a serious and somewhat anxious expression, as if worried Sona wouldn't want to take him. After all, Sona already had a candidate she had been observing for a while.
"Seeing how eager you are in promoting this Yusuke guy, it seems he is very special, perhaps even better than Saji?" Sona stood up from her seat and walked to the window. She pushed aside the white curtains and stared at the stream of students walking through the school gate.
Tsubaki followed and stared at the crowd of students, hiding her expression of disgust. How could any man be compared to her Yusuke?!
Yusuke was the most precious being in the universe! Even ten thousand like Saji gathered together wouldn't amount to a single hair of her Yusuke!
After Yusuke turned her down yesterday, Tsubaki decided to tell Sona about him and get her help to convince Yusuke to become part of their peerage. She wasn't worried about Sona suddenly falling for him because she knew just how rigid and inflexible Sona was when it came to love. Sona even promised never to consider any man unless he beat her at chess.
Tsubaki was very confident in Sona in this regard. Even if all women fell in love, she wouldn't.
The two watched the crowd flowing inside as they waited for the figure of Yusuke to appear. Soon, a few minutes later, the conspicuous, tall, and fit figure of Yusuke showed up. Because of his height and rather muscular body that was clearly visible under his uniform, he stood out a lot among the crowd of still-developing teenagers.
"That's him." As soon as her eyes caught his figure, Tsubaki restrained the rising excitement in her heart and spoke softly.
However, she didn't get any reply, because Sona's eyes were fixated on that tall man. Her usually cool eyes carried a strange heat, and the hand resting on the windowsill had her fingers digging deep into it. Her heart was beating so fast, as if something unknown had awakened inside her. Something that, for some reason felt even more important than all her goals and dreams. This strange feeling should have been confusing, even terrifying, but to her, it felt normal, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Her face remained expressionless as she stared at Yusuke through the window, but her eyes glowed with a strange light that showed her intense excitement and inner turmoil. She could barely hold herself back, her grip on the window frame tight enough to turn her knuckles white.
"Sona-sama?" Tsubaki called out again. This time her voice was much quieter, and though her face remained expressionless, a strange and absurd feeling crept up inside her. Maybe... introducing Yusuke to Sona had been a very bad idea.
'No, it can't be. Sona is the cold beauty type. There's no way she'd fall in love with Yusuke so suddenly. Tsubaki, don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand!' Tsubaki tried to shake off the bad feeling clawing at her chest. If she even began to doubt her best friend and master... then who could she possibly trust in this life?
"Hmm." Sona snapped out of that strange state, her face calm as ever. She spoke in a cool, measured tone. "He is indeed very talented. His physical strength and magical power are both exceptional. Too bad I already used my two Bishop pieces. I can only use my Pawn pieces to reincarnate him."
"Indeed. I think he'd be more suitable as a Pawn than a Bishop or a Rook. He has a good balance of both physical strength and magic power. He could become an all-around fighter. In fact, if I hadn't already taken the Queen piece, I would have recommended you make him your Queen." Tsubaki nodded repeatedly and spoke calmly, but that calm lasted only a short moment before her excitement started showing as she praised Yusuke's talent to the roof.
Sona's expression stayed calm as she stared at Tsubaki's excited face, but the light in her eyes grew darker and darker. She suppressed the strange irritation bubbling inside her and spoke, trying to keep her tone steady, "...It seems that you really have a high opinion of him."
"Indeed, I saw him kill a fallen angel with just his bare hands, or rather legs," Tsubaki said, not sensing anything unusual in Sona's tone as she continued talking excitedly about Yusuke.
At that moment, a knock at the door interrupted their conversation. The person who knocked entered directly without waiting for permission. Rias's red hair swept into view, followed by her busty and confident figure. Behind her was the quiet, classical beauty Akeno, walking with her usual smile.
"Rias, what brought you this time?" Sona smiled as she walked to the table in the middle of the room. She sat on a chair and asked Rias.
The two had been childhood friends and grew up together as both rivals and best friends.
"I've found a new candidate for my peerage," Rias said cheerfully as she sat on the opposite side of the table. Akeno stood silently behind her without saying a word.
Meanwhile, Tsubaki moved to the other side of the room and began preparing tea.
"Really? Who is this lucky person who attracted our renowned Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess?" Sona was taken aback. Not long ago, Rias told her she was interested in a pawn candidate suspected of having a dragon-type sacred gear, so it surprised her that Rias found another candidate. Still, she was genuinely happy Rias could find more candidates for her peerage because she knew how hard it was for her to escape from her engagement, especially with time running out.
"It's a second-year student. His name is Yusuke Aoki," Rias leaned back comfortably in her seat as she spoke the name. Her eyes shone with a strange light that showed adoration and admiration, along with a hint of hidden obsession.
Clank!
The sound of something breaking suddenly interrupted their conversation. Rias glanced curiously to the side and saw Tsubaki staring at her. The teapot she was holding fell to the ground and broke, but it didn't seem like she noticed. Her eyes kept staring at Rias, cold and dark.
"What was his name again, Rias?" Sona didn't seem to notice her queen's slip of composure. Instead, her attention was fixed on Rias. Her usually warm and cordial expression turned colder, her eyes growing just as dark as a deep whirlpool.
"Yusuke Aoki," Rias said, noticing the sudden change in the atmosphere. She corrected her posture, and her voice became much more serious.
Sona's small bust heaved. She adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose, slammed the table, and stated, "I won't allow that!"
All three women flinched at Sona's sudden outburst. Tsubaki's eyes darkened further as her gaze shifted from Rias to Sona. Even Akeno's ever-present smile faltered, her expression growing increasingly unsettling.
The furniture began to tremble as red-crimson lights flashed around Rias. Her hair swayed in the air as she stared at Sona with a cold face, fury bubbling inside her. "What do you mean, Sona?"
Sona didn't back down. She stood up from her seat, a water-blue aura surrounding her as she spoke, "I had my eye on Yusuke before you. I want him in my peerage."
Tsubaki stopped what she was doing and walked behind Sona, as if showing support. In truth, no one knew what she was thinking, judging by her clenched fists.
"Outrageous! Yusuke is the one I want, and not even you can take him from me!" Rias slammed the table until it cracked and shot up from her seat. Sona may be her best friend, but if she stood in the way of getting Yusuke, Rias would destroy her!
"You already have that Issei Hyoudou, who is suspected to be the Red Dragon Emperor! Why are you trying to take Yusuke from me as well?" Sona shouted angrily, refusing to relent. Both of them had noticed Issei first, but since she knew her friend's situation, she did not try to compete over him. But to think Rias would even try to take her Yusuke was something she would absolutely never allow.
"Haven't you also found Genshirou Saji with Vritra's Sacred Gear?!" Rias didn't back down. How could this woman's words sound like she was doing her a favor by not competing for that Hyoudou boy?
"How about this..." She took a deep breath to calm herself, causing her large breasts to bounce in the air, much to Sona's ire. Then she said, "I'll give up Issei Hyoudou if you leave Yusuke to me."
...
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