"Hey, Issei. Why don't you set up your own office?"
In the Occult Research Club room, as I was doting on Koneko-chan, who was on my lap, Rias suddenly suggested that.
Her words were so abrupt that I stood there with my mouth agape for about ten seconds.
I ran my fingers through Koneko-chan's fluffy cat ears and spoke.
"My... office?"
Suddenly being asked if I wanted to set up an office... In this case, 'office' probably refers to a base of operations for me to work as a High-Class Devil.
Certainly, Rias and Sona, who oversee Kuoh Town, each have their own bases. In Rias's case, this Kuoh Academy, specifically the Occult Research Club room, serves as her base for devil activities. Sona has the student council room and one other location.
I've heard that High-Class Devils with their own peerage always have their own base of operations, and those who operate in the human world typically have their base there.
And I, also one of the High-Class Devils operating in the human world...
"Even if you say 'office'... Money isn't an issue since I have the funds from Oppai Dragon, but what about the location?"
Devils and gods alike are particular about their territories. Setting up a base carelessly could lead to trouble later on.
Given how often we already get into fights, I want to avoid conflicts over things like this as much as possible.
Rias said.
"The location won't be a problem. I plan to entrust you with one-third of the area I manage. The issue is where to open the office itself---"
"Leave that to me."
Interrupting Rias, our Occult Research Club advisor, Azazel-sensei, appeared from a magic circle.
Huh... wasn't he still in a faculty meeting?
"Sensei, is the meeting over?"
"It was long, so I slipped out citing poor health!"
"Again!? You slipped out again!?"
"It's the vice principal's fault for talking too long. What was that all about? I already know without being told. Well, it's best to leave those overly serious talks to Rossweisse."
Ugh, this guy, he pushed it onto Rossweisse again... Rossweisse is probably going to come stomping in here fuming later.
Sensei continued speaking as if he didn't care about such trivialities.
"I overheard your conversation. So you're setting up a new office for Issei?"
Rias nodded to Sensei's question.
"Yes, Issei is also a High-Class Devil. As a 'King,' he's meant to lead his peerage. It's been a while since his promotion, so I think it's about time he had his own base."
"Indeed, High-Class Devils each have their own base of operations. Considering Issei will one day be entrusted with territory in the Underworld, it would be good for him to learn now. Furthermore, establishing Issei's office has significance in terms of increasing the number of 'D×D' bases."
I see. If, for instance, this Occult Research Club room became unusable, we'd need an alternative place to gather. Before, when the old school building was under renovation and unusable, we used to gather at my house to discuss things.
Considering that such things might happen again, having multiple places to gather is a good idea.
Rias asked Sensei.
"So, regarding the location for Issei's office, Azazel, do you know a good place?"
"Oh yeah. It's a place I used as one of my labs. Due to Grigori's circumstances, I'm moving out, so I'll hand it over to Issei. All the equipment and furniture have already been moved out, so Issei just needs to decide the layout of the office."
Oh, really!? All my concerns are being resolved one after another!
Office layout. I'll decide the specifics after actually seeing it, but what should I do? When I think of an office, there's a desk, a sofa for visitors... what else...?
I don't want it to feel too plain. All my peerage members are girls, after all. A little bit of flair would make it more comfortable.
An hour later.
We were in the basement of a cram school about a twenty-minute walk from the Hyoudou household.
"Grigori secretly bought out this cram school and built a lab in its basement," Reyna explained.
Huh, so something like that was happening near my house.
The elevator in this cram school had a dedicated facial recognition system, and once it confirmed you were authorized personnel, you could descend to the basement. Currently, only Sensei and Reyna were registered, so I would need to register later since I was inheriting this place.
When we exited the elevator, it was a vast, empty space. The walls were exposed concrete. There was only minimal lighting, and the room was dim.
...It had a rather spooky atmosphere, as if a ghost might appear.
"As I said, the move has already been completed. As you can see, this place is currently empty. I'm handing it over to you."
"Y-yes..."
"What? You look like you're not very enthusiastic."
"No... it's just, there was less stuff than I expected... I thought it would be more stylish since it was Sensei's lab."
Sensei's house in this town was a high-end apartment, and the furniture was stylish too. The interior design was sophisticated, neither too flashy nor too plain, so the contrast was...
Sensei gave a wry smile.
"Is that all? I told you, everything that was here has been moved out. Or rather, I had intended to hand this over to you from the moment I decided to vacate this place. The reason is as I explained in the clubroom. That's why I removed everything that was in this place... from the furniture to the walls."
"...?"
I understand the furniture. Those are things Sensei uses. But was it necessary to remove the walls too?
Rias also looked puzzled by Sensei's inexplicable actions.
Then, Sensei grinned.
"This will be your base, in other words, your castle."
"Yes, well."
"If you're a man---wouldn't you want to design your own castle with your own hands?"
---!
It was only then, after he said that much, that I finally understood Sensei's intention.
I see, so that's what it was about.
Building your own castle with your own hands. That's romantic and one of a man's dreams.
I don't have the architectural knowledge to design a house. Still, I had a dream of "a house I want to live in."
Well, after the Gremory family renovated it in the summer, something even better than my dream had been realized, so that dream was gone.
But it's the same for this office. It's the place I'll use as my stronghold from now on. I want to think about what kind of space I want it to be, from scratch.
---Creating the place you envision.
Sensei gave me that opportunity.
"Don't worry about the funding. If you tell me or Sirzechs, we'll give you as much as you want. You're a member of the anti-terror team, someone who must go to dangerous places. A little bit of selfishness is allowed, right? ---Go on, build your castle."
W-what a cool thing for Sensei to say! There are times like these that make it impossible to dislike him!
My castle! What a great sound!
An opportunity like this doesn't come often! Since Sensei said so! I'll take him up on it!
"Yes! I'll build my own castle!"
And so, my office creation began.
A few days later.
Back home, I gathered my peerage members, Miu, Alice, and Ravel, in one of the spare rooms on the upper floor of the Hyoudou house.
The four of us surrounded a piece of paper with the floor plan of Sensei's former lab drawn on it, and began our discussion. At the top of the paper, it was written in red pen: "Red Dragon Emperor Peerage Office (Provisional)."
"Alright, let's start thinking about the design plan for the 'Red Dragon Emperor Peerage Office (Provisional).' First, given the elevator's location, the entrance is here, right? For now, let me hear everyone's opinions. I'll try to incorporate as many as possible."
I said, sketching on the blueprint with a pencil as I spoke. At first, it was simple stuff that anyone would agree with, like the entrance and the bare minimum furniture needed.
For furniture, we were referencing product catalogs from both the Underworld and the human world that Ravel had gathered.
Miu hummed, arms crossed.
"Hmm, I definitely don't like a plain feel. I want a bit of flair, I guess."
"Indeed. If it's too flashy, it won't feel like an office, but if it's too plain, it'll lose our motivation to work."
...In Alice's case, I feel like she lacks motivation for paperwork regardless of the location.
She usually falls asleep right after staring at documents! And if things get bad, she'll even throw them at me!
"It is certainly better for Issei-sama's desk to be large. Issei-sama is the 'King' of us, the Red Dragon Emperor's peerage. Something grand and befitting a 'King' would be good."
Ravel also offered her opinion as she flipped through the catalog.
I thought a normal size would be fine, but I guess that idea would be instantly shot down if I mentioned it.
However, this place. It's a bit too spacious for an office. Even if all the chess pieces were filled, there would still be room left over after placing desks for everyone.
It's pointless to have too many sofas for visitors, and besides, we probably won't have that many visitors anyway.
So, what to do?
As I was racking my brain, at that moment---
"This is it. It should be an office and a residence."
It was Ignis, materialized, who said that. She was hugging me from behind, intently staring at the blueprint.
"A residence...? Is there a need to go that far? It's within walking distance from home."
"Ah... 'residence' was a bit of an overstatement. What I mean is a little different."
Ignis paused for a beat.
And then, the next moment---.
"I mean, it's not a residence, but a place for the office and for bringing girls in."
"PUFFF!!"
I spewed the tea I had in my mouth!
Th-this useless goddess, what kind of thing is she suggesting!?
This is an office, you know!? A place for devil work, you know!? Does she understand that!?
C-certainly, a girl in an office is, in a sense, a dream! But you know, I don't think using Sensei's support like that is right!
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