Chapter 315: Rias's Advance, Ravel's 'Punishment'
To be honest, a woman's appearance plays a significant role in how much weight she carries in a man's heart.
In this regard, Rias had always been quite confident.
She was one of the top beauties at Kuoh Academy.
Of course, Kuoh Academy might be too small a stage, but even in the devil world, she was a renowned beauty.
Countless men pursued her.
Yet now, when it came to appearance, she felt somewhat insecure.
Not to mention Gabriel, the number one beauty in Heaven, but rivals like Akeno, Kuroka, Suzaku, and Lavinia were her biggest competitors.
The first two were undoubtedly enemies, while the latter two seemed harmless for now, but Rias still considered them threats.
In her view, the latter two would—sooner or later—become rivals as well.
So, among so many women who were no less beautiful than her, how could she stand out?
First and foremost, she had to take the initiative. She couldn't afford to wait any longer.
So, after noticing that everyone had fallen asleep exhausted from the tests, Rias reopened her eyes.
Would someone like Akeno or Kuroka truly fall asleep from exhaustion due to the spells used in the tests?
Were they not harboring any ulterior motives?
Rias, of course, didn't believe that for a second.
However, it seems she was the first to make a move. The others, except for Ravel and Ophis, were truly exhausted from testing various spells and had collapsed into sleep.
So, while Rias was also focused on recompiling the God of the Bible's spells, and without anyone noticing, she quietly slipped under the desk.
Thus, she began her mischievous behavior.
When the scalding sensation bloomed in her throat, she suddenly revealed shocking news—someone was attempting to break the seal of Beast Emperor 666?
The news stunned her for a moment, causing her breath to hitch slightly, which led to her choking and coughing.
She tried her best to suppress the coughing to avoid Ravel noticing.
Immediately after, Rias prepared to take further action.
She turned her back and made a rather unladylike, careless move—an undignified posture like a dog digging in the dirt, even mimicking a wagging tail.
Well, she didn't have a tail.
But in human impressions, don't all devils have tails?
Actually, that's not the case. Tails are characteristic of special devils like succubi.
For devils like her, devil wings are the symbol of a devil.
However, if she really wanted a tail, it wasn't impossible—she could simply form a fake one using pure magical power.
So, Rias was considering whether to conjure a tail as well, but the conversation between the two left her somewhat confused.
Asking Ravel to choose between the front or the back?
What did that mean?
When Ravel made her choice, Rias suddenly stiffened as if struck by lightning.
She understood what it meant.
Really, such a question should have been directed at her, letting her make the choice!
Idiot!
"Hmm?"
Ravel tilted her head cutely, her twin golden spiral pigtails swaying.
After making her choice, what was he planning to do?
So, she waited for the person in front of her to say something more, but nothing came?
However, his body leaned forward slightly—what were these subtle movements for?
Ravel couldn't help but shift her gaze again, looking at the mirror behind his side. The reflection angle was just perfect, allowing her to see clearly.
She saw the scene in the mirror clearly.
For a moment, Ravel's expression went blank, as the impact on her was even greater, refreshing her understanding.
C-could this really be done?
It felt rather terrifying too.
Normally, she thought expanding to the thickness of a thumb would be about the limit.
In other words, anything larger than a thumb would definitely not be able to pass through such an opening.
Yet, right now, something at least four or five times the size of a thumb was being forcibly pushed in.
"Ravel, why do you keep sneaking glances behind my side? What's wrong?"
"Ah? I, um, well..."
Ravel became flustered, her small fingers nervously intertwining as she avoided meeting his teasing gaze.
She knew perfectly well that the person before her was pretending not to understand what she'd been looking at, when in reality he had seen right through her and was deliberately teasing her.
"If it were you, what would you choose for yourself?"
He suddenly asked her such a question.
"M-me?"
Ravel's voice trembled with nervousness, her gaze mixing anticipation and unease.
She gently bit her tender lips, her eyes growing moist.
"If it were me... I'd choose the front"
"Why?"
"Because..."
Her voice grew softer than a whisper, so quiet that even Ravel herself could barely hear it.
"I see. Then let me examine it to confirm whether it truly can't accommodate"
"Eh?"
Ravel stared blankly—had she heard correctly?
"Step up here"
Before the slightly tsundere golden-haired girl could step onto the table, Renji first cleared away the pile of documents on it.
"S-step up?"
"Yes, this is your punishment for being disobedient. I already told you to rest, yet you kept working overtime. So, will you accept the punishment? Or will you go rest immediately?"
"I... I choose to accept the punishment"
Stammering her response, Ravel felt anxious about the impending punishment.
But even stronger was her anticipation.
If she was about to receive the punishment she had witnessed, that might mean what she hoped for would happen too.
So she somewhat clumsily climbed onto the table.
Normally she wouldn't be this clumsy—it was mainly due to her current nervousness.
She glanced sideways at the others; only Ophis was still watching anime while everyone else was fast asleep.
"S-sorry, I can't stand up right now"
She had climbed onto the table, but for some reason couldn't muster the strength to stand—again due to excessive nervousness.
"It's fine"
Renji reached out and patted her head.
Then he smiled in a way that made the girl even more nervous—a seemingly mischievous smile.
"Now then, Ravel, please assume the same pose as the figure you saw in the mirror. That will make it easier for me to observe and inspect properly."