Rias could already tell it wouldn't be easy to earn a place in Ryuichi's heart.
He was the kind of person who seemed approachable on the surface but kept his true feelings sealed away, hard to reach no matter how close you got.
But so what?
People could change—slowly, maybe, but change all the same.
And Rias Gremory had confidence in her ability to make that happen.
The paperwork for joining the club went surprisingly smoothly. Rias only had to give a single instruction before someone immediately took care of the rest. Clearly, she had a few connections in the Student Council.
Just like that, Ryuichi officially joined the Occult Research Club—the same club Rias presided over as its president.
When they arrived at the clubroom, two girls were already waiting inside.
One of them was Akeno Himejima—Kuoh Academy's second most beautiful girl, just behind Rias herself, and easily the most popular among the upperclassmen. Her mature charm gave her a quiet but undeniable authority.
The other was someone Ryuichi already knew: a petite, silver-haired girl from his own class—Koneko Toujou.
Unlike Rias and Akeno, who both had the air of refined older sisters, Koneko was small, doll-like, and utterly adorable. Her golden eyes and calm demeanor made her look almost unreal, though her face was expressionless, her silence giving off the impression of a lifelike porcelain doll.
When Rias entered with Ryuichi in tow, both girls turned to look at him. They each nodded politely in greeting.
"Ryuichi," Rias said, clapping her hands once before taking a seat on the sofa. "You already know these two, I believe ."
"I do. We're classmates," Ryuichi replied with a nod.
"That's right," Rias said. "To make coordination easier, I arranged for all of us to be in the same class. From now on, these two will be your teammates."
"Well then," Akeno said with a gentle smile, her voice carrying that trademark melodic lilt of hers. "Please take good care of us, Ryuichi-kun."
Her long black hair, tied into a high ponytail, shimmered as she spoke, perfectly matching her elegant and mature aura.
Koneko followed with a quiet, almost mechanical tone: "Nice to meet you."Her flat voice held no clear emotion—it was polite, but distant. A girl of few words, clearly.
Rias smiled as she gestured toward them. "Koneko is my Rook—she specializes in close-quarters combat. Akeno is my Queen, the most versatile and powerful piece on the board. You'll be fighting alongside both of them from now on, so be sure to get along."
"Got it," Ryuichi said. Then curiosity got the better of him. "So, President… what about me? What's my piece?"
Rias's lips curved into a faint smile as she recalled the memory of his reincarnation ritual. "You're a very special case, Ryuichi," she said softly. "At first, I granted you the Knight piece—but it wasn't enough. Your body simply refused to stabilize. In the end, I had to use two Knight pieces… plus every Pawn I had."
Ryuichi blinked. "Wait, that means—"
"Exactly," Rias said with a small laugh. "Compared to other Kings, my peerage will have nine fewer members because of you."
Akeno giggled from the side, eyes sparkling with mischief. "That means you've got a lot of pressure on your shoulders, Ryuichi-kun. You'd better not disappoint our dear Rias~."
Ryuichi gave a dry laugh, unsure how to react.So, to summarize: he'd been killed, resurrected as someone's servant, and now he was supposed to fight on her behalf—possibly against entire armies, if Akeno's teasing was anything to go by.
Yeah. Sounded just great.
Still, what choice did he have?
He sighed quietly. "All right… then maybe you can finally explain what's going on between Devils, Fallen Angels, and all that?"
"Of course." Rias leaned back gracefully, crossing one leg over the other as she began to speak.
"Devils, Fallen Angels, Angels, Dragons, Youkai, and humans—we all coexist in this world," she said. "Most Angels dwell in Heaven, while Devils like us live in the Underworld."
That sounded suspiciously close to Western mythology, Ryuichi thought. Maybe this world really did share some hidden link to the one he came from.
"As the name suggests," Rias continued, "Fallen Angels were once Angels themselves. But after being consumed by impure desires, they fell from grace and descended into the Underworld. Since ancient times, they've manipulated humans and sought to destroy Devils. The Angels of Heaven also fought against us for their own reasons. That conflict led to a long, bloody war."
She glanced at Ryuichi. "That much makes sense, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," he muttered dryly. "Angels and Fallen Angels as the bad guys. Figures."
After being stabbed to death by one, he wasn't exactly feeling charitable toward either side.If they're supposed to be 'good,' then whoever wrote their PR campaign deserves an award, he thought bitterly.
Rias chuckled. "They're not all bad, you know." She cast a sidelong glance at Akeno, who simply smiled serenely and said nothing.
Rias went on. "After countless wars, the three factions—Heaven, the Underworld, and the Fallen—were nearly annihilated. Their numbers dwindled to the brink of extinction, and at last, they agreed to a peace treaty."
Ryuichi listened quietly. To him, it sounded just like human history—people fighting until they had no choice but to rest and rebuild.
"Even now," Rias said, "minor conflicts still happen, but large-scale battles are rare. As for Dragons, Youkai, and other races, they've mostly remained hidden from the world due to their small populations."
At last, Ryuichi felt like he had a solid grasp of the world's structure—and, more importantly, why that Fallen Angel had targeted him.
So that's it… she wanted to kill me before I learned how to use my power.
He couldn't help a cold smile. I never even wanted to cause trouble, and they still came for me. Fine. If that's how they want to play, they'd better be ready for payback.
His mind flashed back to the sword and shield that had appeared from thin air during the fight. His Sacred Gear.
"What exactly are these Sacred Gears, anyway?" he asked.
Rias tilted her head slightly. "They're said to be gifts from the gods, though in truth, many of them are born naturally—relics of power that choose their own hosts. Their origins are mysterious, even to us Devils."
"How do I make mine appear?" Ryuichi asked immediately. "I'd rather not stand there clueless next time someone tries to kill me."
Rias smiled faintly. "Once you've successfully summoned it even once, your Sacred Gear will answer your will. You can call it forth—or dismiss it—whenever you like. Try it."
With that, she shifted into a more relaxed position, curling up slightly on the sofa and resting both legs on the cushions, her crimson hair cascading over her shoulder.
Ryuichi sighed silently.That's a pretty unguarded pose, huh.
Still, his expression remained calm. After what he'd witnessed that morning, this was practically nothing.
No point making a fuss over something like that. He had bigger things to focus on—like figuring out how to summon his Sacred Gear.
Rias could already tell—it wouldn't be easy to earn a place in Ryuichi's heart.
He was the kind of person who seemed approachable on the surface but kept his true feelings sealed away, hard to reach no matter how close you got.
But so what?
People could change—slowly, maybe, but change all the same.
And Rias Gremory had confidence in her ability to make that happen.
The paperwork for joining the club went surprisingly smoothly. Rias only had to give a single instruction before someone immediately took care of the rest. Clearly, she had a few connections in the Student Council.
Just like that, Ryuichi officially joined the Occult Research Club—the same club Rias presided over as its president.
When they arrived at the clubroom, two girls were already waiting inside.
One of them was Akeno Himejima—Kuoh Academy's second most beautiful girl, just behind Rias herself, and easily the most popular among the upperclassmen. Her mature charm gave her a quiet but undeniable authority.
The other was someone Ryuichi already knew: a petite, silver-haired girl from his own class—Koneko Toujou.
Unlike Rias and Akeno, who both had the air of refined older sisters, Koneko was small, doll-like, and utterly adorable. Her golden eyes and calm demeanor made her look almost unreal, though her face was expressionless, her silence giving off the impression of a lifelike porcelain doll.
When Rias entered with Ryuichi in tow, both girls turned to look at him. They each nodded politely in greeting.
"Ryuichi," Rias said, clapping her hands once before taking a seat on the sofa. "You already know these two, I believe."
"I do. We're classmates," Ryuichi replied with a nod.
"That's right," Rias said. "To make coordination easier, I arranged for all of us to be in the same class. From now on, these two will be your teammates."
"Well then," Akeno said with a gentle smile, her voice carrying that trademark melodic lilt of hers. "Please take good care of us, Ryuichi-kun."
Her long black hair, tied into a high ponytail, shimmered as she spoke, perfectly matching her elegant and mature aura.
Koneko followed with a quiet, almost mechanical tone: "Nice to meet you."Her flat voice held no clear emotion—it was polite, but distant. A girl of few words, clearly.
Rias smiled as she gestured toward them. "Koneko is my Rook—she specializes in close-quarters combat. Akeno is my Queen, the most versatile and powerful piece on the board. You'll be fighting alongside both of them from now on, so be sure to get along."
"Got it," Ryuichi said. Then curiosity got the better of him. "So, President… what about me? What's my piece?"
Rias's lips curved into a faint smile as she recalled the memory of his reincarnation ritual. "You're a very special case, Ryuichi," she said softly. "At first, I granted you the Knight piece—but it wasn't enough. Your body simply refused to stabilize. In the end, I had to use two Knight pieces… plus every Pawn I had."
Ryuichi blinked. "Wait, that means—"
"Exactly," Rias said with a small laugh. "Compared to other Kings, my peerage will have nine fewer members because of you."
Akeno giggled from the side, eyes sparkling with mischief. "That means you've got a lot of pressure on your shoulders, Ryuichi-kun. You'd better not disappoint our dear Rias~."
Ryuichi gave a dry laugh, unsure how to react.So, to summarize: he'd been killed, resurrected as someone's servant, and now he was supposed to fight on her behalf—possibly against entire armies, if Akeno's teasing was anything to go by.
Yeah. Sounded just great.
Still, what choice did he have?
He sighed quietly. "All right… then maybe you can finally explain what's going on between Devils, Fallen Angels, and all that?"
"Of course." Rias leaned back gracefully, crossing one leg over the other as she began to speak.
"Devils, Fallen Angels, Angels, Dragons, Youkai, and humans—we all coexist in this world," she said. "Most Angels dwell in Heaven, while Devils like us live in the Underworld."
That sounded suspiciously close to Western mythology, Ryuichi thought. Maybe this world really did share some hidden link to the one he came from.
"As the name suggests," Rias continued, "Fallen Angels were once Angels themselves. But after being consumed by impure desires, they fell from grace and descended into the Underworld. Since ancient times, they've manipulated humans and sought to destroy Devils. The Angels of Heaven also fought against us for their own reasons. That conflict led to a long, bloody war."
She glanced at Ryuichi. "That much makes sense, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," he muttered dryly. "Angels and Fallen Angels as the bad guys. Figures."
After being stabbed to death by one, he wasn't exactly feeling charitable toward either side.If they're supposed to be 'good,' then whoever wrote their PR campaign deserves an award, he thought bitterly.
Rias chuckled. "They're not all bad, you know." She cast a sidelong glance at Akeno, who simply smiled serenely and said nothing.
Rias went on. "After countless wars, the three factions—Heaven, the Underworld, and the Fallen—were nearly annihilated. Their numbers dwindled to the brink of extinction, and at last, they agreed to a peace treaty."
Ryuichi listened quietly. To him, it sounded just like human history—people fighting until they had no choice but to rest and rebuild.
"Even now," Rias said, "minor conflicts still happen, but large-scale battles are rare. As for Dragons, Youkai, and other races, they've mostly remained hidden from the world due to their small populations."
At last, Ryuichi felt like he had a solid grasp of the world's structure—and, more importantly, why that Fallen Angel had targeted him.
So that's it… she wanted to kill me before I learned how to use my power.
He couldn't help a cold smile. I never even wanted to cause trouble, and they still came for me. Fine. If that's how they want to play, they'd better be ready for payback.
His mind flashed back to the sword and shield that had appeared from thin air during the fight. His Sacred Gear.
"What exactly are these Sacred Gears, anyway?" he asked.
Rias tilted her head slightly. "They're said to be gifts from the gods, though in truth, many of them are born naturally—relics of power that choose their own hosts. Their origins are mysterious, even to us Devils."
"How do I make mine appear?" Ryuichi asked immediately. "I'd rather not stand there clueless next time someone tries to kill me."
Rias smiled faintly. "Once you've successfully summoned it even once, your Sacred Gear will answer your will. You can call it forth—or dismiss it—whenever you like. Try it."
With that, she shifted into a more relaxed position, curling up slightly on the sofa and resting both legs on the cushions, her crimson hair cascading over her shoulder.
Ryuichi sighed silently.That's a pretty unguarded pose, huh.
Still, his expression remained calm. After what he'd witnessed that morning, this was practically nothing.
No point making a fuss over something like that. He had bigger things to focus on—like figuring out how to summon his Sacred Gear.