Haruto looked at Rias, then at the piece on the coffee table, utterly bewildered.
What was going on? Had Rias made a mistake and used a regular chess piece instead of an Evil Piece?
Rias blinked her ruby-like eyes, equally unable to comprehend.
She picked up the chess piece from the table and examined it carefully twice.
No mistake—it was indeed the Rook-class Evil Piece.
It had clearly started merging into Haruto's body and initiating the reincarnation, so why had it suddenly failed at the last moment...
Rias had witnessed failed reincarnations before, but what happened with Haruto was completely different.
If the piece had been insufficient for the transformation and required a larger dose, the magic circle would have persisted, and she would have sensed it.
Then, naturally, there would have been another method to remedy the situation.
The complete rejection of the Evil Pieces from his body was something Rias had never heard of, let alone witnessed.
Haruto suspected Rias had gotten her hands on counterfeit, defective products, while Rias insisted it wasn't her fault—it had to be Haruto's problem.
The two of them just stared at each other, locked in a silent standoff.
Slurp~
A white-haired loli licked her popsicle and chimed in, "President, maybe try the other pieces?"
"Hmm..."
Rias rubbed the piece in her hand thoughtfully before deciding to give it another shot.
The rejected pieces were still usable—their magical energy hadn't diminished at all. In fact, their quality seemed to have improved.
The originally pitch-black pieces now gleamed with a polished, metallic sheen, as if meticulously maintained.
Just to rule out the possibility of insufficient dosage, this time Rias used eight Pawn pieces at once.
Hum—
The black-and-red magic circle lit up again.
A moment later...
Staring at the eight pieces scattered on the table, Rias was on the verge of losing it.
After a moment of deep thought, she put away the Pawn pieces and took out the sole Mutated Piece.
By now, Haruto also sensed something was off. One piece being fake was plausible, but eight Pawn pieces couldn't all be defective.
Watching the inky-black Mutated Piece in Rias' hand, he gritted his teeth and braced himself once more.
Hum—
This time, the magic circle lasted even longer than when the eight Pawns were used.
Haruto could clearly feel his strength and magical energy surging, but as time passed, that sensation gradually faded.
Clatter—
As the piece fell onto the table, Rias' expression remained calm.
It was the expected outcome.
At this point, she might as well go all out—she dumped every remaining piece she had onto him in one go.
If this worked, she'd make Haruto work himself to death from now on.
With fifteen servant slots, minus the three already used, Haruto alone would occupy twelve. That meant he'd have to do the work of twelve people!
Under Rias' predatory glare, Haruto shuddered involuntarily.
Cowed by the overwhelming aura of the crimson-haired, demonic-breasted princess, he had no choice but to comply.
A magic circle far larger than before flared to life, enveloping Haruto entirely.
Rias' red hair billowed as she unleashed her full power, sending all twelve pieces flying toward Haruto's chest one after another.
...
Clatter— ×12
Gazing at the Evil Pieces scattered across the table, Rias' eyes lost all hope.
She'd seen her fair share of strange phenomena, but this was a first.
Not only could he fuse with anything, but in the end, he rejected them all...
Looking at the pieces, Rias felt an inexplicable sense of betrayal.
The worst part? She was the one who'd willingly handed them over to Haruto in the first place.
Silently picking up the pieces, she could still sense Haruto's lingering aura on them—making the feeling even more pronounced.
It's just my imagination... It's all in my head... It'll pass soon.
Rias repeated the mantra in her heart, praying the pieces hadn't truly been molded into Haruto's shape.
Haruto rubbed his chest. After being kicked by Akeno and then having Evil Pieces repeatedly enter and exit his body, he instinctively checked for injuries.
Well, there wasn't a single mark—even the tiny footprint Akeno had left earlier was nearly gone.
But far from feeling stronger, Haruto just felt drained.
Even Little Haruto, usually standing tall and proud, was now hanging his head in defeat.
Clearly, the reincarnation process wasn't just a failure—it was downright impossible.
"President, I'll head back first."
Before Akeno could reappear, Haruto decided to make a quick escape.
With the reincarnation a bust, Akeno's earlier efforts had been for nothing. If he didn't leave now, he'd just be asking for another kick.
Sure, her black-stockinged legs were a sight to behold, but they packed quite the punch.
Rias, still staring at the pieces in her hand, waved dismissively, signaling for Haruto to scram.
Right now, she didn't want to see him—or even speak to him.
The longer she looked at her Evil Pieces, the more unsettled she felt.
They really did feel... tainted.
Haruto, oblivious to the changes in the Evil Pieces, simply assumed Rias was in a bad mood because the reincarnation had failed.
Leaving the clubroom, he adjusted his clothes and pondered the reason for the failure.
Logically, the process should've gone smoothly.
He was just an ordinary guy—albeit with a slightly unique soul.
If Evil Pieces could reincarnate dragons and youkai, why would they fail on him?
After about ten seconds of fruitless contemplation, he shrugged.
What's done is done. No point overthinking it.
The one who should be agonizing over this was Rias. His priority now was to act before Sona caught wind of the news—to give her a chance while also testing whether the issue lay with him or Rias.
"Feeling a bit drained... Hope I can hold out..."
Changing direction, Haruto headed straight for the student council office.
Whether he could or not didn't matter—if Rias went to discuss this with Sona, his opportunity would vanish.
...
"Tsubaki-senpai, got a minute?"
Tsubaki looked up, her expression stern. "What is it?"
Haruto grinned sheepishly and nodded eagerly.
After a brief hesitation—under the knowing gazes of the other student council members—Tsubaki stood and followed Haruto.
They entered a private room next door.
The moment the door closed, Tsubaki sneered. "Haruto-kun, what brings you here?"
Haruto blinked, unsure when he'd offended the vice president.
"Tsubaki-senpai, why the formality? We agreed you'd call me by my name."
He shamelessly sidled up to her, aiming for a kiss.
Tsubaki turned her head, denying him—but didn't push him away.
"Hmph, I wouldn't dare address you so casually. What if Akeno misunderstands?"
Her sarcastic tone dripped with jealousy.
Haruto finally understood.
Ever since resolving the rumor incident, he hadn't visited Tsubaki even once.
Not only that, but he'd been frequenting the Occult Research Club daily.
While Sona merely regretted that Haruto had ultimately chosen Rias, Tsubaki was different.
She'd just given him her first kiss, only to watch him run off with someone else—how could she not be furious?
Haruto grimaced. His fault—he wasn't yet a seasoned player.
Too absorbed in training, he'd forgotten about the ripe fruit waiting to be plucked.
"Tsubaki-senpai, I had no choice," Haruto explained, mixing truth with lies.
"I only went to the Occult Research Club for training. Forget Akeno—aside from getting beaten up by Koneko, I barely saw anyone."
He emphasized how brutally he'd been thrashed, conveniently omitting any mention of enjoying Akeno's body along the way.
----------
For advance chapters join my Patreon.
[email protected]/Aarvan