The first thing I realized when I opened my eyes was that the ceiling was entirely unfamiliar.
The second thing was that I had a lingering, phantom headache—the kind that usually followed an all-nighter spent staring at a monitor, trying to debug a machine learning model until my eyes burned.
But there was no monitor here. Instead, I was in a remarkably average, slightly messy bedroom filled with... highly questionable posters of gravure idols.
I dragged myself out of bed and stood in front of the mirror attached to the wardrobe.
Brown hair. Average height. A face that screamed "background character," yet was somehow destined to be the center of the universe.
'Issei Hyoudou,' I thought, the memories of the boy seamlessly merging with my own. 'You've got to be kidding me.'
In my past life, I was only 22. Just a tired guy burning himself out on code, algorithms, and deadlines, dying of stress before I ever got the chance to actually live. I had so many regrets—books unread, games unplayed, and a desperate lack of peace and quiet.
And now? I was reincarnated as the protagonist of High School DxD. A world overflowing with Devils, Fallen Angels, and a heavenly dragon sleeping inside my left arm that would inevitably drag me into apocalyptic wars.
Ding!
A translucent blue screen popped up right in front of my face.
> [System Initializing...]
> [Welcome, User! You have been selected as the Red Dragon Emperor!]
> [Main Quest Issued: The Hero's Awakening! (Mandatory)]
>
"Decline," I said out loud, physically swiping the screen away. "Opt-out. Put me on the 'Do Not Call' list. I am not doing the plot."
The blue screen flickered, turning an angry red, before buffering. Finally, it shifted back to a calm, neutral blue.
> [User has rejected the Main Storyline.]
> [Activating Alternative Protocol: 'Self-Serve Mode']
> [Status: Standby. Awaiting User's first custom quest...]
>
I dismissed the window. I'd deal with the System later. Right now, I had a much more immediate, uncomfortable problem to face downstairs.
I got dressed in the Kuoh Academy uniform and slowly made my way down the steps. The smell of miso soup, grilled fish, and steamed rice wafted through the hallway. It was incredibly domestic. Warm.
I stepped into the dining area. Miki Hyoudou was at the stove, humming cheerfully, while Gorou Hyoudou sat at the table reading a newspaper.
"Morning, Issei!" Miki chirped without turning around. "You're up earlier than usual. And I didn't even hear you yelling at the television about the morning yoga programs!"
I froze in the doorway. My chest tightened.
These were Issei's parents. In the original story, they were undeniably good, deeply loving people who were used to their son's ridiculous antics. But looking at them, I didn't feel a surge of familial warmth. I just felt a profound, heavy disconnect.
'They aren't my parents,' I realized. 'To them, I'm their beloved, idiot teenage son. To me, they're strangers from an anime.'
"Good morning," I said quietly. My voice felt foreign in my own throat.
Gorou lowered his newspaper, blinking in surprise. Usually, his son would bound into the room with boundless, exhausting energy. Instead, the boy standing there looked remarkably calm, his posture relaxed but mature.
Miki turned around, a spatula still in her hand, and gave me a long, calculating look.
"Are you feeling alright, Issei?" Gorou asked, adjusting his glasses. "You're... quiet. You didn't even look at the gravure section of my paper today."
"I'm fine," I replied, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "Just a bit tired. Didn't sleep well."
Miki set a plate of food in front of me, her brow furrowed with immediate, dramatic maternal concern. "Are you sure? You don't have a fever, do you?" She reached out to feel my forehead.
I flinched—just a tiny, almost imperceptible pull backward—before forcing myself to stay still. Her hand was warm. It felt nice, but the guilt gnawing at my stomach made it unbearable. I felt like an imposter who had stolen their child's life.
"No fever," she murmured, pulling her hand back. "Eat up, then. You don't want to be late for school."
"Thank you for the food," I said softly, picking up my chopsticks.
The meal was excruciatingly awkward. I ate in silence, keeping my eyes fixed on my plate. Every time I looked up, I could see Gorou and Miki exchanging subtle, worried glances. They knew something was off. The sudden absence of his boisterous, perverted energy was jarring to them.
I finished my food quicker than usual, eager to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the kitchen. I stood up, gave a stiff, slightly too-formal bow, and grabbed my school bag.
"I'll be going now," I said, heading for the front door.
"Have a good day at school!" Miki called out, though her voice lacked its usual bubbly energy. "Don't cause any trouble!"
"I won't," I promised. And I meant it.
I stepped out of the house and closed the front door behind me. The morning air was cool, but the knot of guilt in my chest didn't loosen.
Living this second life wasn't going to be as simple as just ignoring the plot. I had to navigate the ghosts of Issei's life, too.
As Kuoh Academy came into view at the end of the street, I slowed my pace until I came to a complete stop.
I could see students in their crisp uniforms funneling through the front gates. Somewhere in those halls were Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri, running their respective Devil peerages right under everyone's noses. Walking through those gates meant stepping onto their chessboard.
'Why would I do that?' I thought.
I looked around at the quiet, sunlit streets. In my past life, I had always dreamed of visiting Japan, experiencing the culture, eating authentic street food, and exploring the shrines without the crushing weight of deadlines looming over me.
And now I was here. Kuoh was a supernatural warzone waiting to happen, but the rest of the country? It was just waiting to be explored. I needed a vacation.
But vacations required money.
I opened the blue holographic interface of the System.
"System," I murmured. "Let's test the limits of this 'Self-Serve' mode. I need travel funds. If I do chores around town, can I set yen as the reward?"
> [Calculating...]
> [Affirmative. The System can generate localized currency as a reward for completed tasks, provided the requested amount is proportional to the effort and societal value of the objective.]
>
Perfect. I spotted an elderly woman struggling to carry two heavy bags of groceries down the sidewalk.
"New Quest," I whispered. "Objective: Help that lady carry her groceries all the way to her house. Reward: 3,000 Yen."
> [Quest Accepted.]
>
I jogged over, plastering on a polite, harmless smile. "Excuse me, ma'am! Let me help you with those."
Ten minutes later, I deposited the bags on her kitchen counter, bowed respectfully to her profuse thanks, and stepped back out onto the street. Three pristine 1,000-yen notes materialized in my pocket.
I smiled. School was officially out.
For the next three days, I became the phantom handyman of Kuoh Town's mundane districts. I issued quests for everything: rescuing cats, unloading hardware store trucks, and cleaning graffiti.
But Kuoh was a small town, and by the second day, my new routine hit a snag.
I was just finishing up a quest—carrying heavy boxes out of a grandmother's dusty attic—when I stepped onto the street and froze.
Standing there, staring at me with expressions of utter betrayal and confusion, were Matsuda and Motohama. The other two-thirds of Kuoh Academy's infamous Perverted Trio.
"Issei?!" Matsuda yelled, his shaved head shining in the sun. "What the hell are you doing?! We thought you were sick on your deathbed! Why are you carrying garbage for some old lady?"
"Yeah, man!" Motohama adjusted his glasses, looking genuinely distraught. "The kendo club girls were doing floor stretches today! I calculated the optimal wind trajectory for the gym windows, and you abandoned us! The Trio is incomplete!"
I sighed, setting the boxes down. Looking at them, I saw exactly what the old Issei was—a joke. A punchline driven purely by hormones, despised by the female student body.
"I'm working," I said calmly, wiping sweat from my brow. "And I missed it because I'm done with all that, guys."
"Done?" Matsuda echoed, his jaw dropping. "Done with what?"
"The peeping. The perverted stuff. Being known as the biggest creeps in school," I said flatly, looking the two of them in the eyes. "It's a dead end. I'm tired of being that person."
Motohama gasped, taking a dramatic step back as if I had physically struck him. "H-He's possessed! The real Issei would never say such words!"
"I've realized I have a dream," I continued, ignoring their theatrics. "I want to travel. I want to explore the world and actually experience life instead of just spying on it from the bushes. So, I'm doing odd jobs to save up money for an adventure."
The two of them stared at me, dumbfounded. The sheer sincerity and maturity in my voice seemed to short-circuit their brains. They slowly dropped to their knees on the sidewalk, completely overwhelmed by the death of their perverted brotherhood.
"You guys are my friends," I added, my tone softening just a bit. "And honestly? You should focus on yourselves, too. Work out, get a hobby, do something better with your time. You're better than just being creeps."
I picked up the boxes and walked past them, leaving them kneeling on the concrete in stunned, contemplative silence.
By the evening of the third day, I was sitting on my bedroom floor, counting the thick stack of yen I had accumulated. I was browsing a travel guide on my phone when the doorbell rang downstairs.
"I'll get it!" I heard Miki call out.
I didn't think much of it until I heard the front door open, followed by a polite, chillingly formal voice.
"Good evening, Mrs. Hyoudou. I apologize for the sudden intrusion. I am Sona Sitri, the Student Council President of Kuoh Academy, and this is my Vice President, Tsubaki Shinra. We are conducting home visits for students with concerning attendance records."
My blood ran cold.
'Crap. I completely underestimated Sona's Devil bureaucracy.'
"Issei!" Miki's voice echoed up the stairs, trembling with worry. "Get down here right now!"
I quickly messed up my hair, slouched my shoulders, and trudged down the stairs. When I reached the living room, Gorou had emerged from the den, standing next to Miki. Both of them looked stressed.
Sitting on the sofa, perfectly poised, were Sona and Tsubaki. Sona's sharp, violet eyes locked onto me, instantly scanning me for any trace of magic or demonic energy. Tsubaki stood quietly behind her, an imposing, unreadable shadow.
"Issei," Gorou started, his voice stern. "The President just told us you haven't been to school since Monday. Care to explain?"
"Truancy is a direct violation of Kuoh Academy's code of conduct, Hyoudou-kun," Sona interjected smoothly, her tone strictly professional. "The school takes the safety of its students very seriously. When one of our own vanishes without notice, we must assume the worst."
'She wants to see if I'm involved in the supernatural,' I realized. 'Time to hit them with the boring truth.'
"I wasn't in any danger. I was working," I said, pitching my voice steadily. "Doing odd jobs around town. Helping at the hardware store, running errands."
Sona's eyes narrowed, her sharp mind analyzing the statement. "You skipped three days of education to perform manual labor? Highly illogical. Why?"
I took a deep breath, dropping the slouch and standing up straight. "Because I'm tired of the person I was. I don't want to be known as the school pervert anymore. It was pathetic."
Gorou gasped, clutching his chest.
"I realized my real dream is to travel and explore the world," I continued, speaking clearly and confidently. "To actually do something meaningful with my life. So, I started working to earn the money to leave Kuoh and travel Japan."
The room fell dead silent. Sona's calculating look completely dissolved into profound shock. Her eyes widened slightly behind her glasses. Tsubaki actually blinked in surprise, her stoic mask cracking for a fraction of a second.
Miki stared at me, the anger completely draining from her face, replaced by a massive welling of anime-style tears.
"Issei..." Miki whispered, her voice cracking. Suddenly, she threw her arms around Gorou, openly sobbing into his shoulder. "Gorou! Our little boy! He's throwing away his porn magazines and becoming a man!"
"I know, Miki, I know!" Gorou sniffled, aggressively wiping a tear from his own eye. "He has a dream! An honest-to-god dream!"
Before I could react, Miki pulled away from Gorou and crossed the room, pulling me into a tight, fierce hug. "Oh, my sweet boy. Why didn't you tell us? We were so worried. If you wanted to turn your life around, your father and I would support you in whatever you decide! You never had to hide this from us."
A sudden lump formed in my throat. The disconnect I felt earlier wavered against the sheer force of their comedic but genuine, unconditional love. I slowly returned the hug.
'They really are amazing parents.'
"While self-improvement is certainly a commendable goal, Hyoudou-kun," Sona interrupted, her voice regaining its strict composure as she adjusted her glasses to hide her initial shock. "Abandoning your education on a whim is incredibly foolish. Schooling is vital for your future."
I gently pulled back from Miki and looked directly at the Devil heiress.
"I'm not abandoning it, President," I countered, my voice firm. "I've already looked into it. I am going to complete my education privately and remotely. I'll study on my own while I travel, and I'll return only to take the standardized exams to graduate. I don't need to sit in a classroom to learn."
Sona's mouth parted slightly. She was completely unarmed. She had come expecting a rogue magical threat, a Stray Devil attack, or at least a truant idiot. Instead, she found a shockingly articulate young man with a solid, structured plan for independent learning and personal growth.
"I... see," Sona finally managed to say, her brilliant mind struggling to find a flaw in the logic. "If your parents approve of this remote schooling arrangement, the Student Council has no further jurisdiction to intervene."
"We will look into the remote schooling programs tonight!" Gorou declared proudly, giving me a thumbs-up.
Sona stood up abruptly, Tsubaki mirroring her flawlessly. "Then we apologize for the intrusion. Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou. Hyoudou-kun."
They practically fled the house, thoroughly confused and likely eager to report this bizarre, completely non-magical development to Rias Gremory.
As the door shut, I let out a breath I had been holding. I had done it. I had officially written myself out of Kuoh Academy's plotline.
I looked at Miki and Gorou, who were beaming at me through their tears. I had their full support. I had money. I had remote schooling as the perfect cover.
'Well then,' I thought, pulling up the System's glowing blue interface in the corner of my vision and opening the [Optional Multiverse Quests] tab. 'It looks like the entire world—and beyond—is finally open.'