Of the three present,
apart from Rias, neither Himejima Akeno nor Koneko could move a finger.
It wasn't the result of any binding skill; it was pure biological instinct paralyzing them.
Simply standing there, the man made them feel an overwhelming gap in life-hierarchy.
A gap no will or power could bridge.
All they could do was lower their heads in dread.
Even though they had no idea what was happening.
Yet the sensation arrived fast and left just as quickly.
While their minds crashed, the oppression vanished and they regained freedom of movement.
"Sorry, I frightened your Familia, Rias."
A calm, mature voice rang out as Rosen looked at Rias with wry helplessness.
"It's fine. The first time I met you I felt the same thing—only what just happened... must mean Mr. Rosen, you're even stronger now."
Having tackled a mission together in the chat group, Rias and Rosen were already familiar friends; no pleasantries were needed.
"Though you already know who they are, let me introduce them formally: this is my Queen, Himejima Akeno; that's my Rook, Koneko. There's also a Knight and a Bishop—the former's away, and you already know about the latter."
At this point Rias looked somewhat helpless.
Rosen naturally knew the Bishop was the girly vampire Gasper.
Too reclusive to even talk, he wielded the mighty Divine Artifact "Forbidden Balor View," yet instead of helping he'd once clobbered his own allies during the Three Factions talks.
After Rosen urged her to be stricter, Rias had tried talking with Gasper several more times, but normal conversation proved impossible.
Still, she couldn't bring herself to abandon him—she simply kept him.
However, his "kennel" had been relocated from Kuoh Academy to the Gremory Family castle in the Netherworld, where servants now cared for him.
That way, at least, the Trouble Group couldn't exploit him to attack his allies as in the original story.
Rosen wasn't surprised.
Abandoning Gasper simply wasn't Rias's style.
With that, Rosen turned his gaze toward Himejima Akeno and Koneko.
After what they'd just experienced, their "suspicion" had shifted into "shock and uncertainty."
A life-hierarchy gap like that was something no ordinary person could make them feel.
And having stood beside Rias, they had met top-tier demons and even Devil Kings.
Yet when facing Rias's own brother, the Devil King Lucifer, they had never felt anything similar.
Perhaps Lucifer had deliberately suppressed his aura, but at the very least it told them this man was in no way inferior to the Netherworld's Devil Kings!
When had their club President befriended such a powerhouse?
"Looks like they're finally ready to listen to you."
Rosen sensed a power inside Himejima Akeno and Koneko that differed from demonic magic.
Combined with the advice he'd given Rias when she joined the chat group, the two had apparently accepted their past and begun Cultivating the Bloodline Power they had once deliberately suppressed.
"They're my family now."
Speaking of them chased away the gloom Rias felt over Gasper.
At least some of her Familia still listened.
At those words, Himejima Akeno and Koneko exchanged glances.
From the conversation it wasn't hard to see that Rias's recent changes had been influenced by this man.
But what magic did he possess?
In some respects Rias could be incredibly stubborn.
With Rosen having withdrawn the aura of the God of the Bible, the now-recovered Himejima Akeno and Koneko studied Rosen with open curiosity.
Wait—hadn't President Rias mentioned a guest from another world?
"Could it be... the one who's been in constant contact with Rias all this time really is a mighty being from another world?"
No one answered.
Until now, Himejima Akeno had firmly believed that whoever Rias called her "benefactor" must have been a con artist.
But after experiencing that paralysis, who could still question Rosen's existence?
Yet with that sensation gone, Rosen's overwhelming might did not reassure them that Rias hadn't been deceived; instead it seeded a sliver of dread about the future.
After all,
a man possibly stronger than a Devil King had contacted President Rias and traveled from another world—what did he intend?
Surely he hadn't come to invade this world?!
Himejima Akeno occasionally watched movies; plots like that were everywhere.
"Looks like your Familia still don't quite trust me."
Rosen spoke with a soft chuckle.
At his words, Rias instinctively looked toward Himejima Akeno and Koneko.
After living together for years, they could read one another's thoughts from a single glance.
Seeing their unease, Rias waved cheerfully.
"Relax, Mr. Rosen isn't that petty. It's natural you'd feel anxious without the full picture, but I have only one thing to say: we can trust Mr. Rosen unconditionally."
"On that point, I swear by the honor of House Gremory!"
Her tone brooked no argument.
Realizing Rias was dead serious, Himejima Akeno composed herself and bowed slightly to Rosen. "Forgive me; I don't yet know who you are. But if President Rias says so, I will doubt you no longer."
Rosen didn't mind.
They would all be his Familia eventually; a little tolerance cost nothing.
"More importantly, let's handle the main business."
"Mm. Yesterday we spotted Stray Exorcists and Fallen Angels near Komou Town, but we didn't act rashly. Just before you arrived the two Sacred Gear Users also paid a visit; by now they've been gone about ten minutes."
"They said they'd already located Kokabiel's trail and warned us not to interfere."
"So what do we do now?"
"I've already locked on to Kokabiel's position."
The instant Rosen finished, the three girls in the Occult Research Club felt the world spin.
When their vision cleared they were inside an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Komou Town.