HYOUDOU HOUSE – KUOH
"What's wrong, partner? Are you still upset about the Dhampir's peerage?" Ddraig asked without hiding the provocative tone while his voice echoed inside Issei's mind.
"Of course I am!" Issei answered immediately while walking down the street already close to home. "He's living my dream! I was the first one to have this dream!"
Ddraig let out a small laugh inside his consciousness before answering in the same rhythm.
"Actually, throughout history, many men had this exact same dream."
"Who cares!" Issei pointed ahead as if he were arguing face to face with someone. "At school, I was the first!"
'This is unfair…' He kept walking while making an annoyed face. 'A rich redhead girlfriend, a beautiful blonde servant, Akeno-senpai practically throwing herself at him…'
The thought was interrupted when he finally got home.
The Hyoudou residence remained as simple as always, illuminated by the late afternoon light while the smell of food escaped through the kitchen window. The moment he opened the door, the familiar atmosphere hit him instantly.
"I'm home!"
His mother's voice came from the kitchen almost immediately.
"Welcome back, Issei!"
She partially appeared at the kitchen door right after, holding a wooden spoon while smiling strangely at him.
"Guess who's waiting for you in the living room."
Issei slightly frowned, clearly confused by that.
"Huh?"
He walked toward the living room without much hurry, but froze the instant he saw two girls wearing exorcist clothes sitting on the sofa in his house.
One had short blue hair and a serious expression.
The other was a blonde with long hair.
And the instant she saw Issei entering the room, the blonde girl stood up from the sofa completely excited.
"Issei-chan!"
She immediately rushed a few steps forward, clearly genuinely happy to see him again after so long.
Issei blinked a few times without understanding absolutely anything.
'Huh…?'
The feeling was strange.
Very strange.
Because something about her seemed familiar.
But at the same time didn't fit any memory he had.
The blonde girl stopped right in front of him while smiling openly, clearly expecting immediate recognition.
"You don't remember me?"
Issei kept staring at her for a few more seconds before his mind finally connected part of his childhood memories.
His eyes widened instantly.
"Wait…" He slowly pointed at her, still incredulous. "Irina?"
Her smile immediately widened.
"That's right!"
"But that makes no sense!" Issei answered immediately, clearly confused while looking her up and down. "You used to be a boy!"
Irina's expression changed instantly.
"I never was!" she answered indignantly, her face turning red instantly. "You were just too stupid to notice!"
Issei stayed speechless for a few seconds before letting out an awkward laugh, clearly trying to ease the situation after his own stupidity.
"My bad…" He scratched the back of his head while looking away. "You really looked like a boy back then."
"That's not an excuse." Irina answered while still pouting, though unable to completely hide the relief of finally being recognized.
The blue-haired girl merely watched the two in silence from the sofa, clearly uninterested in joining that childish argument.
__
GREMORY MANSION – KUOH
Rias remained seated beside Gasper while explaining the situation in more detail, and as the conversation progressed, her expression steadily lost more of the lightness it had during the trip.
"The disappearances started a few days ago." Rias lightly crossed her legs while keeping her gaze on him. "At first it seemed random… but now it's happened too many times to ignore."
Akeno remained near the window, listening to everything in silence this time.
"Sona and I reached the same conclusion." Rias continued. "The Fallen Angels are probably involved."
Gasper stayed silent for a few seconds while organizing his own memories about the original plot.
'I don't really remember this kidnapping part…' He rested his arm on the sofa's backrest. 'But considering where the story is heading… Fallen Angels make sense.'
He raised his gaze right after.
"Then let's find those people first."
Rias observed him more carefully.
"Do you already have a plan?"
Gasper lightly nodded before standing up from the sofa.
"I'm going to spread my bats through the city." He walked toward the room's window without hesitation. "If the kidnapped people are still in Kuoh, they'll find them."
Rias opened a small smile upon hearing that.
"Really…" She rested her face on her hand. "Your power is really useful for this kind of situation."
Gasper partially opened the window before extending his hand outside.
Dark energy immediately began forming around his arm.
And then—
SHHHHHH.
Hundreds of bats began emerging from the darkness around his hand, escaping through the window as a living black mass before spreading across Kuoh's night sky in every direction.
Akeno watched the bats disappear into the distance before smiling lightly.
"That really is convenient." She shifted her gaze toward Rias. "Finding people like this will be much faster."
Rias nodded right after.
"With that range…" She turned her attention back to Gasper. "They won't be able to hide the kidnapped people for long."
'With this, it probably won't take long to find some clue.' Gasper closed the window again before returning to the sofa. 'And if it really is the Fallen Angels… then the plot has already started accelerating.'
He sat back down beside the two girls while the room's atmosphere finally became slightly more controlled.
__
GREMORY MANSION – RAVEL'S ROOM
Ravel organized her clothes inside the wardrobe while observing her new room more calmly for the first time.
The space was large, comfortable, and clearly prepared for someone important to the Gremory family, but that wasn't what truly occupied her mind at that moment.
'So this is going to be my new home…'
She stopped for a moment while holding a piece of clothing before her thoughts naturally shifted toward Gasper again.
'And now I need to figure out how to conquer that impossible man.'
She was still organizing some boxes when she heard a few light knocks at the door.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
Ravel partially turned toward the entrance.
"You can come in."
The door slowly opened right after, revealing Asia standing on the other side, clearly shy.
"Sorry to bother you…" Asia held her own hands while speaking. "I wanted to know if you needed help."
Ravel blinked a few times before ending up letting out a quiet little laugh.
The reaction immediately confused Asia.
"Did I say something strange?"
"No." Ravel lightly shook her head while smiling more softly than before. "I just thought it was cute."
Asia became even more embarrassed upon hearing that.
Ravel then placed the clothes she was holding on the bed before walking toward her.
"Actually…" She maintained the small smile. "I want to become your friend."
Asia's eyes immediately sparkled.
"Really?"
"Yes." Ravel answered without difficulty this time. "So you can help me."
Asia immediately opened a happy smile before fully entering the room.
The two began organizing things together right after, slowly talking while the room's atmosphere became much lighter than Ravel had expected when she arrived at the mansion.
She genuinely liked the girl in front of her.
The two were practically the same age, and Asia carried that gentle expression all the time, without seeming fake or forced at any moment. The way she helped was also strange to Ravel, because it didn't seem like she was trying to please her out of interest or position within the peerage.
Asia simply wanted to help.
And that was far too unusual in the Underworld.
Ravel stored some clothes inside the wardrobe before discreetly glancing at her again.
'She really is different…'
The only thing Ravel still didn't understand was the way Asia continued dressing.
Even while living in the Gremory mansion, surrounded by High-Class Devils, she still wore clothes similar to a nun's, practically maintaining the same simple style as before.
That clearly drew attention.
But Ravel didn't comment on it.
She simply continued organizing her things while keeping the thought to herself.
'Better not talk about that right now…'
Their relationship was still just beginning, and Ravel perfectly understood that creating problems over something that small would be stupid.
Especially when Asia was clearly trying to welcome her warmly from the very first moment.
"Do you like it here?" Asia asked while folding some clothes on the bed.
Ravel looked around the room for a moment before answering.
"Yes." She lightly nodded. "It's different from my home… but I liked it."
Asia opened a satisfied smile upon hearing that.
"Then I'm happy."
Ravel observed her reaction for a few seconds before ending up smiling lightly as well, realizing that this was perhaps the first peaceful conversation she had since officially joining Gasper's peerage.
Support here: patreon.com/22Mirko22
Thank you so much for reading - see you in the next chapter!