After finishing my morning practice, my body felt pleasantly tired, the kind that comes from honest effort rather than exhaustion. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and was about to head back when a familiar face appeared.
It was Saji.
He stood there awkwardly, hands behind his back, eyes avoiding mine for just a second too long. "Hyoudou… President Sitri asked you to come to the Student Council room."
So that's how she called me—not directly, but through one of her pawns.
I nodded. "Got it. Thanks."
As Sanji walked away, I couldn't help but think about him. From what I remembered, he admired Sona deeply—so much so that it was the very reason he reincarnated as a devil in the first place. If he knew that I was engaged to her… yeah, he'd definitely have something to say. Probably a lot of things. Loud things.
The strange part was that almost no one knew. Sona hadn't told the Student Council. As far as I knew, the only people aware of it were me and Rias. That secrecy made me uneasy. An engagement wasn't exactly something small. I wondered why Sona wanted to keep it hidden. Politics? Timing? Or maybe… something more personal?
Lost in thought, I made my way across the school grounds toward the Student Council building. But halfway there, something felt off.
My palm was sweating.
That alone wouldn't be strange—but then I noticed my hand trembling slightly at my side. My heartbeat felt louder than usual, echoing in my ears. Fear. That was the closest word I could put to it.
"…That's impossible," Ddraig's voice echoed calmly in my mind. "Fear originating from your mind alone makes no sense. You have faced death directly and did not react this way."
Yeah. He was right.
I nodded slightly, reassuring myself. I had fought devils, fallen angels. I had stared death in the face more than one time. There was no reason for me to be nervous over a meeting.
"I must be under the weather," I muttered. "That has to be it."
Still, the feeling didn't fully disappear.
Standing in front of the Student Council room, I took a deep breath and knocked.
"Come in," Sona's calm voice replied.
When I opened the door, I immediately realized something was different.
Sona wasn't alone.
"Sona-chan!" a cheerful voice rang out.
Serafall Leviathan was there.
She was wearing her usual magical girl outfit—frilly, colorful, and completely out of place inside a serious Student Council room. Before I could even process it, she zipped across the room and latched onto my arm with surprising strength.
"Ise-kun~! Long time no see!" she said with a bubbly laugh, pressing far too close for comfort.
"…Serafall-sama," I said stiffly. "Personal space."
She ignored that entirely, hugging my arm even tighter. "Ehh? But this is fine, right? You're practically family already~!"
My heart skipped.
Sona cleared her throat sharply. "Onee-sama. Please don't tease him."
Serafall pouted but finally loosened her grip—though she still stood way too close. "You're no fun, Sona-chan."
Sona turned to me and gestured toward the couch. "Please, sit down, Hyoudou-kun."
I did as instructed, trying to calm my still-unsettled nerves. Sona then walked behind her desk and opened a small box I hadn't noticed earlier.
Inside… was a cake.
A neatly decorated cake, clearly homemade or at least specially ordered. The sight of it only made my confusion grow.
"…Cake?" I asked.
"Yes," Sona replied, carefully lifting it out. Her expression was composed as always, but I could tell—just barely—that she was tense.
Serafall clapped her hands excitedly. "Yay! I told you cake would make it better!"
"Better for what?" I asked.
Sona placed the cake on the table in front of us and finally looked me directly in the eyes. Her gaze was steady, but there was something serious behind it.
"This meeting," she said, "is not official business. It is… personal."
That explained the secrecy. The cake. Serafall's presence.
My palm sweated again.
Whatever this was, I had a feeling it was important—something that would change the direction of things from here on out.
And for the first time in a long while, I realized something unsettling.
I wasn't afraid of enemies.
I was afraid of what came next.
~~~
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