"So, what the hell is going on here?! I demand an explanation!"
Rias' eyes twitched as she shouted, pointing at the two clearly separated individuals sitting in the Occult Research Clubroom.
One of them was, of course, an old acquaintance—Azazel, who had already been serving as the club's advisor for some time. The other, sitting on the opposite couch and watching Azazel warily, was a beautiful woman with a head of radiant golden hair.
Her identity was enough to shock anyone—Gabriel, one of Heaven's Four Great Seraphs, known as the most beautiful woman in the celestial realm.
"Greetings, young lady of the Gremory House. I apologize for the sudden visit. Starting today, I will be serving as one of the Occult Research Club's advisors. This arrangement was decided through discussion between your brother and Lord Michael."
Gabriel gave a polite bow, making Rias' expression darken further.
"What the hell is my idiot brother doing?!"
"Uh… Lady Gabriel, was it? Welcome."
Standing behind Rias, Yoru greeted her, already having a rough guess at Michael's intentions. He probably knew about his encounter with Ophis and wanted to build a friendly relationship…
Could this be a honey trap? But using Gabriel, one of the Four Great Seraphs, for such a plan felt a little too extravagant, didn't it?
Yoru rubbed his chin thoughtfully, giving Gabriel a thorough once-over.
It had to be said—Gabriel truly lived up to her title as Heaven's number one beauty. Her looks could only be described with one word: perfection.
When she noticed his gaze, she tilted her head slightly and offered a faint smile.
Though Rias was a thousand times unwilling, this was a major matter between the two factions, something she couldn't change no matter how much she pouted or protested.
In the end, she reluctantly agreed to Gabriel's stay. After Gabriel began residing at Kuoh Academy, Yoru couldn't help but notice her subtle attempts at flirting with him.
Still… if Heaven wanted to use a honey trap to win him over, couldn't they at least send someone a little smarter? Gabriel's behavior convinced Yoru of only one thing—she was an airhead.
Life went on peacefully. The Khaos Brigade seemed to have gone completely quiet, not a trace of activity for some time. Lately, however, the number of stray devils in town had increased slightly.
Those small fry were, of course, easily dealt with by Rias' and Sona's peerages, leaving Yoru with no opportunity to even get involved.
—Occult Research Club, Saturday afternoon.
It was that time of year again—school trip season. The group was happily discussing the details in the clubroom.
At Kuoh Academy, second-year students traditionally went on such trips. Among the club's current second-years were Yoru, Kiba Yuuto, Koneko, Asia, Xenovia, and Irina.
"By the way, where did the president and Akeno go last year?" Irina asked curiously.
"We went to Kyoto. We toured famous spots like Kinkaku-ji and Ginkaku-ji," Akeno replied with a smile.
"That's right. But even with four days and three nights, there's only so much you can see," Rias added. "Don't get your hopes too high. It's best to make a detailed schedule before you leave. If you don't properly account for sightseeing and meal times, you'll end up regretting it. Even with buses and subways, travel time eats up a lot of the day."
"If you don't plan around transit time, you're done for," Akeno giggled. "The president kept wanting to see this and that, and in the end, we didn't make it to Nijō Castle. She stomped her foot in frustration at the station."
"Hey! I told you not to bring that up!" Rias blushed. "I was just too excited. For someone like me who loves this country, Kyoto was a dream. The city and all the souvenir shops completely stole my attention."
She spoke with such fondness that it was clear she had enjoyed the trip immensely.
"You'd never been to Kyoto before the school trip? If you wanted to go, why not just use a teleportation magic circle? You could go anytime," Yoru interjected.
"That would ruin it! There's no romance in that. Visiting Kyoto for the first time during the school trip is the real deal. Using a magic circle to get there would be so tasteless. Kyoto is my dream, so I wanted to walk through it on my own feet and breathe in its air."
Rias' eyes sparkled with excitement as she spoke.
After finishing her tea, Rias shifted the topic.
"Trips are great, but we also need to decide on our program for the school festival."
"Ah, right. The festival's coming up soon. Our school's sports festival, trip, and cultural festival all happen back-to-back with barely any breaks. We second-years sure have it rough," Irina sighed.
Rias took some photocopies from Akeno and placed them on the table. It seemed they needed to write down their program idea here and submit it to the student council.
"That's why we should decide now and start preparing early. If we settle on something, the first- and third-years can start working while you're on the trip. We've got plenty of members this year, so it'll be much easier."
"I'm really looking forward to the festival," Asia said, her enthusiasm plain—she loved such events.
"Yes, I'm excited for it too. The sports festival was wonderful," Xenovia agreed with a serious nod, though her eyes gleamed with competitive fire. Apparently, she had caused quite a stir at the sports festival, taking first place in multiple events, and afterward, various girls' sports clubs had tried to recruit her.
"Xenovia, you idiot, you were way too over-the-top," Irina sighed, shaking her head at her partner's antics.
The lively discussion was cut short when the clubroom door swung open, and the ever-slouching Governor of the Fallen Angels, Azazel, walked in.
"Sorry to interrupt your planning, but we've got a new request," he said.
The room immediately fell silent.
"This time, it's not a stray devil. Apparently… it's a member of the Khaos Brigade."
Yoru's eyes lit up, a sharp gleam flashing within them. So the Khaos Brigade was finally making a move? He'd been bored for far too long.
---
Access more chapters at patreon.com/dzeref887