Chương 36: Overlord of a High School (29)
The next day was much like the previous day, Albedo and Shalltear were denied the opportunity to be at his feet while he worked, especially since it couldn't really be called work. Not that he would be welcoming any groveling at his feet, even if it is actually real work.
Momonga was simply writing one idea after another that popped into his head into his notebook, for future experiments. It was truly random with no overarching structure, simply things that he was curious about, silly questions like 'why is the sky blue?' to waste the time. He already knew the answer of course, it was because of the reflection of the water of the ocean, that's why the sky looks red during the sunset, and why the sky in the future is just dark and gloomy.
Momonga decided that it was a better use of the hours he had freed up as a result of his inability to sleep. Who knows? Maybe some random question he had might be useful in the future? Anyway, after scribbling some random notes, he then forwarded them to the Demiurge for further testing and study, designating them as 'low-priority tasks'.
Low-priority because Demiurge was already engaged in the 'great plan of the genius Momonga'. And, not knowing what exactly that plan was, knowing only that it had something to do with establishing contact with Demons, Momonga did not dare to interrupt it. What if Demiurge started asking questions if he found something in the notes? Momonga's heart would simply stop! Uhh, figuratively speaking, that is.
Besides, establishing peaceful coexistence with the Demons coincides with Momonga's top priority for now anyway. Using this experience with the Demons, in the future, Momonga would be able to establish contact with the other major players and secure his own place, for Nazaeick. Who knows? Maybe in the future he could have peaceful coexistence with them.
Peaceful coexistence, in turn, meant that Momonga could conduct all the experiments he wanted, but in a calm, measured manner, and find real-world applications for the experiments as he went along. The knowledge of how the abilities of Nazarick's inhabitants had changed in this world was academic and meant little in isolation, unlike how it would change the tactics and strategies needed in battles with the enemy.
With new potential enemies around, not having all of Nazarick's baseline abilities figured out, would be a disaster!
At the moment, however, Momonga was bound by his attendance of school with the Demon watchers watching. At least the free time he had at school could serve as a generator of ideas. Some important enough, like researching the reproduction of consumables like scrolls and potions, and some on the edge of fantasy, like testing the effect of human faith on the powers of Nazarick's creatures.
In addition, Nigredo was finally able to finish cataloging the number of worlds in this world… Okay, that would get confusing fast. Anyway, she also had completed a cursory study of the inhabitants of those worlds, compiling a report of her own, which Momonga had skimmed over.
From what she had found out, this world, or rather, this universe, because of the many other worlds existing within one, had many such worlds overlapping with each other. These many worlds are then separated by barriers that could not be overcome without the use of magic and artifacts. And it was choke full of them.
Most of these worlds were small, though, there were small pieces of land no larger than a floor of Nazarick, while the largest world overall was probably Earth, with a few worlds approaching that size.
In any case, Nigredo's report only indicated that Momonga's 'experiments' could be conducted for decades to come… And still not get to the bottom of them.
Well, that only means that he wouldn't be running out of ideas to write anytime soon, it's not like he has anything else to do. Demiurge was busy organizing preparations for the meeting with the demons, Albedo had taken over Demiurge's reins on some money-making project. At least he doesn't need to worry about money in the future? And Shalltear had started doing some experimental research on Momonga's ideas… Which meant that if something wrong happened, he could always blame Shalltear, which caused some pang of pain in his chest at using his friend's creation like that.
Momonga ignored the fact that he had defiled two already with practiced ease, only after bouts of Emotional Suppression and almost praying for forgiveness.
Plus, Momonga received a request to gradually bring Nazarick's resources to bear on this world, which Momonga did authorize, subject to a few important conditions being met.
First, under no circumstances were Nazarick to be left undefended, at least three creatures of level 100 must stay in Nazarick, and only a third of all the non-POP monsters could be deployed. Second, any of Nazarick's denizen in this world must practice complete stealth, and keep any of their abilities on the down low. Momonga feared both the possibility of giving away Nazarick's existence directly to the Players of this world, in all senses of the word, and depleting Nazarick's resources. Attempting to spread Nazarick's resources too thinly across any zone of interest, would only end in suffering as a result.
Momonga certainly trusted Demiurge and Albedo due to their brilliant intellects, but their constant ability to find Momonga's brilliant plans in the smallest of his sneezes confused him and caused no small amount of worry. Momonga would hate to face any situation where he would actually need to act in his 'grand plan', which is why he's delegating so much of the work.
Imagine Demiurge waiting on Momonga to act, to bring out the 'next stage' of the plan? Something ridiculous like dramatically turning the tide of a pitched battle and forcing the enemy into some grand retreat.
So at the moment, Nigredo, having made an initial analysis of the situation in this world, was making preparations. In-depth studies of some of the most promising locations for potential agent infiltration, somewhere that was not inhabited by too strong an enemy that could pose a threat to the infiltrated agents or at least detect their involvement and falsity. After all, there was no point in sending a Doppelgänger to a group that could detect them, for example. Nigredo had even already started preparing lists for infiltration that was to take place in the future
In addition, it was quite obvious at this point, after being informed not only of the existence of World Class Items, these so-called Longinuses in this world, and that the enemy was also aware of their existence and properties. That Momonga needed to provide protection from the effects of those for anyone outside Nazarick. Research had shown that the [Throne of Kings] suppressed the effects of [Longinuses], which meant that the wielder of [World Class Items], would be safe against [Longinuses].
At least in this, the New World and YGGDRASIL were similar.
Even so, their supply was not only finite, but also significantly limited. Even considering the captured [Canis Lycaon] there were only nine of them, as well as the two disposable ones that Momonga did not plan to take out of the [Treasury] of Nazarick until the moment of need. Lastly, is the [Throne of Kings] itself, which could not be moved from Nazarick at all. In other words, it wouldn't even be enough to protect all the creatures of the hundredth level, let alone all the creatures at all. While there was a certain willingness to take a risk and try to use another Nazarick resident as bait, Momonga was definitely not ready to do so yet.
The [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] was also temporarily returned to its place on the Eighth Floor of Nazarick, despite the incredible tactical advantages it offered Momonga was unwilling to risk it. Destroying a guild weapon in YGGDRASIL would result in the dissolution of the guild, Momonga didn't want to see how that mechanic would translate to the real world. Even if nothing catastrophic happens, he still would prefer not to lose a potentially lucrative trump card, so he decided to save it as long as possible.
In any case, Momonga was immersed in work, not as important, given that the real plans for negotiations and experiments were carried out by his subordinates, but at the same time not as horrifying as the hours spent in school. No, Momonga generally did what he liked to do – ask questions, visualize possible battles in his head, and pass those questions on to those who could deal with them. Moreover, given his good mood at the moment, realizing that his subordinates had found a suitable way to stop his torture and negotiate with the Demons at the same time, Momonga could even tolerate another day of School.
He was even in a good mood as he headed off to another day of school.
However, Momonga was also rationally aware that his good spirits wouldn't last more than ten minutes, but still, having ten minutes of good spirits at school was better than immediately sinking into despair from boredom, wasn't it? Besides, Momonga had even found one single subject in the entire school that he actually knew! Not just being able to answer a question thanks to his friends' past phrases or diverting the answer away from the question, but actually being able to participate in class!
Although, of course, programming in this world was in its infancy, in Momonga's own opinion, any user should at least have to have the necessary skills to re-compile the core of the operational system to identify bugs in it. The current computers, of course, did not support full neural integration with the user's body and mind, but when they eventually did, without the ability to debug one's own systems, a single error could lead to death, a result of the disruption of neural connections.
His workplace had mandatory seminars, free ones at that! About programming and system maintenance. Of course, not out of the goodness of their heart, but simply because having their employee die would cost the company too much. Loss of production time due to having to remove the dead body, and even having to compensate the computer company due to the unauthorized use of the computing equipment.
It was simply much more cost-efficient to make sure that each employee is well-versed with their equipment.
Upon discovering that the programming language in this world was similar to his past world's, albeit incomparably more primitive and relying on extremely weak electronics - Momonga suddenly felt smart. Finding himself in a computer science class and simply remembering solutions from his past world to any classwork, answering them easily. And he would be having that class first thing in the morning!
So, at least for his first class of the day, Momonga was going into the day almost joyful…
Especially knowing that this hell could be coming to an end soon.
***
Katase was in a bit of a state of frustration at the moment.
After her kiss with Satoru, she was in constant frustration, unsure about their relationship. Does this mean that they are already dating? And with Satoru not reacting to it, then should Katase have just treated it as something normal and not even paid attention to it? In the manga she was reading, such kisses usually happened at the beginning of a character's relationship arc, so was it the same for her? Or was it not?!
Trying to talk about it during yesterday's lunch break was a wash, with Saji interfering in her conversation, making her lose her courage. If it wasn't for Murayama pouncing on Satoru with a thousand questions at once, Katase wouldn't even know what exactly she was supposed to ask him about. And after school, Satoru had left with Saji, and Katase had gone home in a huff before coming to school the next day, only to be even more confused about the situation.
Satoru had asked her to pass along a letter, an invitation he said, to Rias for a meeting. As Katase herself realized quickly after, this meeting was practically a work meeting, so her bout of jealousy didn't last that long… Though what kind of work would seem to connect the head of the school's Occult Research Club and an underground fighter from out of town, Katase was not really sure. But Rias is very rich, so maybe that's how they're connected?
But her sort of boyfriend, or maybe not boyfriend, Katase wasn't entirely sure, had asked her to participate in setting up a meeting with the school's number one beauty. And that was just a day after their first date!
Katase knew that Rias was the school's number one beauty! With Katase not placing anywhere near the top 10, with her huge nasty forehead, and Katase knew that too… Plus, Rias had much bigger breasts too. But Katase's weren't bad either! Satoru wasn't a pervert like Issei, was he?! But guys like big breasts, right?!
What if Satoru dumped her when he met the much more beautiful Rias!? What if the letter was a love confession!?
Okay, when she said that her jealousy didn't last long, it was not because she was a magnanimous and understanding person, her anxiety had replaced it instead.
Giving Satoru's letter to Rias, the latter looked at her with a strange expression on her face, and upon receiving the letter, which Katase hadn't opened by the way, she gave a serious nod before walking away.
Did she just set Satoru up on a date with Rias Gremory?!
Katase's brain, which had been tugging at every corner for the past few days, had finally stopped working, and, as was common in such situations, Katase's brain function had been taken over by her friend, Murayama.
"First of all!" Murayama pulled her friend by the shoulders into a secluded corner during the lunch break before she could meet with Satoru, and do… Do what exactly?
"We don't know exactly what Satoru wanted to discuss! What do we know for sure about him?"
"He's Issei's older brother and not a pervert." Katase replied obediently, "He's very strong and because of his past, which he doesn't talk much about, he was very poor and lived in another city with his mother who died and started making money from underground fights."
"What do we know about Rias Gremory?" Murayama asked the next question, wanting to at least establish the ground rule, before getting to the truth of the matter.
"She's the president of the Occult Research Club, the number one beauty of the school, she has a huge influence in Kuoh Academy, a friend of the president of the Student Council of Souna. Oh, and she's a rich young lady with more money than the rest of Kuoh combined," Katase replied obediently.
"Now we're thinking!" Murayama raised a finger sternly like a teacher.
"So, what is the connection between these two people? Rias had never met with Satoru before and had no relationship with each other… Or, well, not that anyone noticed anyway, which is very unlikely, you know just how fast rumors travel in Kuoh Academy. So it's probably just some business invitation or something! There's nothing to worry about!
"What?" Katase looked at her friend in confusion.
"It's most likely about money!" Murayama immediately clapped her hands together, thinking up a possible reason for the meeting between Katase's 'kind of boyfriend' and 'possible rival"'
"Think about it, if it's not romance, and it doesn't look like romance, then there are only topics about money left! Satoru is poor, Rias is rich, and he promised you that he wouldn't fight in underground fights anymore, so there's your answer! He's probably asking about scholarships or something, I heard that Satoru was supposed to be very smart. If not, then maybe he's asking for a job?" Murayama then held up another finger, though she finished with less confidence than when she started.,
"I've even heard that Issei's father, well, Satoru's as well I suppose, ran away from the family and doesn't go to work anymore, with Issei's mother no longer leaving the house. I don't blame her really, it must've been quite the shock, and he can't rely on Issei now, can he?!"
"Ah… But… But… Why her? Isn't she just a high schooler?" Katase looked at Murayama with a look of confusion.
"Who else could he turn to? Emancipated or not, no one at the bank will give a schoolboy a loan, and your offer to work at the café would be good for pocket change, but not for a family of three! He needs money, a lot of it, and fast! And the only place he can find it, if he doesn't want to get into underground fights anymore, is with Rias Gremory's. Even the dog knows that Rias has more zeros in her bank account than there are students in the entire Academy!"
Katase just shook her head in disbelief as Murayama said that she had a hand in this situation. But what else could she do, just let Satoru take part in underground fights?!
"I honestly don't know what to do in this case." Murayama said as she looked at Katase and sighed.
"Anyway, don't worry about their meeting and… You know, it's kind of weird for me to stick up for a guy, especially one who is Issei's older brother, but!"
Murayama smiled at Katase, "Trust, Satoru. Did he look like a man who doesn't know what to do? He must've had a plan."
Katase could only smile at her best friend. Yeah! There's nothing to worry about, Satoru definitely has a plan!
***
Midway through the school day, at the beginning of lunch break, Momonga's former joy was gone, replaced by a philosophical mindset that mostly revolved around the simple thought of 'what am I doing with my life?'. Surprisingly, mirroring most people's, Momonga's own actual age, thoughts. Thankfully, without the accompanying dead-end job.
The first lesson went well, after a couple of simple tasks, which Momonga himself solved after a few minutes, Momonga decided to show his capabilities to the teacher. With his experience in his past job, there's much to show – partly to determine from his teacher's reaction the possibility of further implementation of such things… And partly to show off a little in front of him.
Perhaps there was even something pathetic about it, the inhabitants of Nazarick were willing to kiss the ground he walked on, but the reason for that was their nature and distorted perceptions of Momonga himself, not his actual achievements. Even his ingenious plans, while quite possibly 'ingenious', were definitely not 'his', Momonnga found that he lacked genuine positive reinforcements.
Given that it was impossible for Momonga to demonstrate his fighting skills openly, or at least he didn't plan to do so until he had fully explored all the risks involved, he wanted to showcase his own talents. Those that Momonga did have, at least.
No, he wasn't a braggart, of course, but maybe sometimes he wished there was a little more truth in the compliments he received. Momonga's 'ingenious' plan was primarily a joke, one grand, drawn-out joke, but, he had real talents, didn't he? Maybe not very outstanding, he'd just copied solutions from his past and adapted them a bit to the one he faces now, but that was at least a small accomplishment, wasn't it?
And he wanted to hear praise for it… Real praises and not coded in into the NPCs nature.
The people of Nazarick would praise him even for his ability to sit on a chair or something equally mundane. Perhaps for breathing correctly, or being able to talk and walk at the same time. Things that, praising for, sounds more like an insult.
However, the computer science teacher's reaction was far more restrained than Momonga had hoped.
Momonga had hoped for an 'excellent' or even a few claps, but when the teacher saw the results of his work, he just sat on his chair as if nothing had happened. And he continued to sit there until the end of the lesson. Then, when the lesson was over, he didn't even get up to send the students away. Causing Momonga, who couldn't stand the idea of being late for the next lesson, to be forced to leave his company, depriving him of a significant portion of the enjoyment he had hoped for.
This in turn meant that the following lessons exhausted Momonga's well of joy, as shallow as it is, even faster.
So now, Momonga approached the lunch break thinking again about whether he could just jump out the window, use [Flight], and get away from the school. Especially given the information that he would likely not be prosecuted for such actions.
Still, however, as lunch break began, Momonga was able to shake off such thoughts a bit, especially after the two friends, Murayama and Katase, returned to Momonga with the information that they had delivered his message to Rias. After all, that in turn meant that he had practically gotten rid of the need to attend school!
Tomorrow he was to 'report' the negotiations to a 'neutral party', in the form of Fallen Angels on the church grounds, where he would be protected from Demon attacks. The message composed by Albedo had already been delivered to Rias, so the Demons would have to address the Fallen separately, Demiurge would receive this message. And the day after tomorrow, on Sunday, having attended school for only one week, but as if having felt all the years of education on his shoulders at once, Momonga was to be released from his burden.
His first introduction into human society had happened… Definitely not as perfect as he would have liked it to be. The whole disaster with Hyoudou's family, and the original plan to keep a low profile, the accidental conflict that miraculously didn't turn into a real conflict with Demons. It was a full cornucopia of messes!
On the other hand, if you discounted the fact that this was his first experience of this kind, and the fact that Momonga was always unaccustomed to confrontations without conceding the first fight? Then it could be said that it hadn't gone as badly as it could have!
He had obtained a lot of important information about the current society that he had forwarded to Demiurge for his research, prepared a base in this city, made contact with the demons. And, ultimately, all without revealing information about Nazarick, thus gaining a significant advantage in the future over a potential opponent.
Which meant that after negotiating, he could most likely extract compensation from the Demons, then retreat from the city, leaving all the mess behind. Officially he would use magic on Issei and his mother to cover their changes, then retreat and start preparing for a new infiltration, this time taking into account all the mistakes and all the information he had gathered.
Somewhere as far away from Japan as possible… Well, he could leave the specifics of the next possible infiltration to Demiurge and Albedo, they could probably handle it better than he could. They could hardly do any worse, after all.
He was a little worried about Demiurge's words that Momonga's 'plan' was going to move on to the next phase, but that was something Momonga could worry about once his main problem, the school, was resolved.
In any case, thinking about his future release from this hell, maybe he could ask Neuronist to use his experience as one of the tortures, made Momonga cheer up a bit. And so, during lunch break, Momonga greeted the girls who had decided to join him for lunch, with a smile and waved at them.
They waved back, but the smiles on their faces were a bit more strained than Momonga's own… However, considering that his usual smile was completely fake, ever since Momonga had first put it on his face, he had actually left it unchanged. He couldn't exactly complain about the girls' slightly wooden smile.
However, even if his smile was fake, his good mood definitely wasn't, and so after making his way along with the girls, Momonga reached his already favored spot on the roof of the school. After settling down with the girls, he opened his packed lunch while looking at the girls cordially. After a few seconds, during which none of them had touched their lunch, Murayama was the first to ask a question… As far as Momonga could tell, at least, she blurted out an entire sentence in a single breath so the contents of it, he wasn't really sure about.
"WhatdidRiaswantfromyou?!"
"Umu?" Momonga blinked incomprehensibly, but after a moment he looked at Katase, who was staring at him as if Momonga had just sworn to descend into Hell in front of her. Ahem, considering that the conversation was about Demons, Rias' name being mentioned, at least he thought so, Momonga might have gotten a little closer to the truth than he thought.
"Your letter to Rias…" Katase, after taking a deep breath and a slap from Murayama for her to calm down, finally managed to speak slowly enough that Momonga could understand her. Still, Katase still looked out of it, looking nervously at anything on the roof just so that she doesn't have to look into Momonga's eyes.
"You did… Negotiate about money, didn't you?"
"Umu?" Momonga was quite surprised, but amidst all the previous events in his life, this question didn't even deserve to be called 'unusual', and then his suppressed emotions didn't even react to his slight surprise. Momonga's mind, on the other hand, having finally finished deciphering Murayama's previous jumble of words, could finally understand just how such a misunderstanding came about.
So Rias was someone wealthy in this society… Though perhaps that was to be expected given that she was a member of the paranormal, and of a very high rank at that. And considering his previous talk with her, his sort-of ban on 'underground fights' and him mentioning his lack of money…
Momonga wondered for a second if it was possible to reveal information about his paranormal abilities to Murayama and Katase. Given that the demons had taken such an action quite calmly in the past, it might be okay… But in the end decided against it.
With Saji and his family it was much easier, as Saji had virtually no friends or parents, so he could get rid of him if necessary. But Katase and Murayama were much more social than Saji, eliminating them would immediately draw attention.
Not to mention the fact that revealing the supernatural to them wouldn't answer the question of why he needed to meet with Rias in the first place. And Momonga certainly wasn't planning to let them in on the details of that.
Although, on the other hand, Katase was kind of in a relationship with him, wasn't she? Momonga didn't have any special feelings for the girl, of course, but they had kissed, hadn't they? And since she hasn't slapped him or kicked him, that meant that they're in a relationship, right?
His relationship with Albedo and Shalltear aside, Momonga wasn't very well versed in relationships.
After a few second of silence, Momonga decided to tell the girls the partial truth.
"I just want to talk to Rias. Nothing more. Money… The money is secondary in that regard."
Katase and Murayama were silent for a few seconds, and then Murayama's face smoothed out. However, not from calmness, which would have brought peace to Momonga's soul, but from a realization that reflexively made him swallow in nervousness. Have they figured out some secrets of his! What if?
"I knew that Rias–" Murayama glanced at Momonga, then at Katase. "Is a Yakuza!"
Momonga blinked. No, from some point of view, with Rias belonging to an influential family of the Demons with a lot of influence in the country it could be said that she is a member of the Yakuza… In a way – in a very indirect and actually not at all related way.
However, hmm, Momonga had no more clever ideas to turn the girls' interest away from him, so he preferred to take the path of least resistance, "That's right, Rias is a… Yakuza."
"Oooh!" The girls' eyes widened, and Murayama was the first to react, "And you too!"
"W-what?!" This time, Momonga's suppressed emotions still had to intervene in the unexpected development.
"I always knew it!" Looking at Katase, who was no less shocked by this information than Momonga, but less able to hide it, Murayama grinned triumphantly, then began to curl her fingers, one by one.
"Legal ties to organize emancipation, the ability to get here from Kyoto, to find your missing father's family with nothing but his name. Your fighting skills, your constant steadfastness, your incredible intelligence, enough to being accepted into Kuoh after the school year started, and now meeting the richest girl in town… You are the heir to a Yakuza clan!"
At those incredible series of words, Momonga covered his eyes. Was it too late to tell her that he was a mage from another world?
Momonga opened his eyes and ran his gaze over to Katase, who was looking at him with a mix of emotions – there was shock, fear, and… Admiration? Why admiration? In her gaze.
Admiration, as if Katase was encountering, for the first time in her life, the hero of the children's comics she had once read in the past.
Besides, really, Momonga had already said the comparison between Rias and the Yakuza wasn't all that unbelievable, had he? And besides, he would need to make contact with the underworld at some point one way or another to expand his business, that is, religion, or is it better to call it a cult…
All the more certain that Demiurge would take advantage of the prospects opening up after meeting them. After he regained the previous nest egg that Demiurge had blown away…
Demiurge was making excellent money, but after Momonga's casual comment, he'd blown it all on buying some company that Momonga himself had only mentioned at all because he was surprised at the name.
Something about… Amazons?
Why Demiurge thought that a company dealing with muscular women is a good investment, Momonga has no idea. But this CEO guy better be making a lot of money for him, he just spent his life savings, well, Demiurge did, investing in the company!
***
Issei, Pandora's Actor, was in some emotional turmoil. No, not what one might call 'irritation' in the fullest sense of the word, but definitely in a confused state of mind. Namely, Issei was experiencing perhaps… Discourage? Yes, that fits.
All of Rias Gremory's servants were amazing ausstellungen, unique in just how dysfunctional they all are.
The nekomata, betrayed by her sister as a result of conflict within her peerage, which Issei's trained eye could identify as part of a much larger conspiracy. The so-called Koneko was so traumatized that she suppressed all emotion and her Nekomata ability, her very essence, for fear of going mad.
A holy swordsman born from a mad experiment, wanting to destroy the holy swords he was once created to carry, and which had indirectly caused the deaths of his friends and adopted family. Though of course, blaming the sword rather than the scientist that conducted the experiments, is remarkably stupid to say the least.
A Fallen Angel, well a half Fallen Angel, Half Human, Half Devil? Or is it a third now? Anyway, a half Fallen Angel, ashamed and hating her essence, and her father, treating them as the cause of her mother's death, cursing her powerful father for failing to protect her family. Again a misguided anger, as if the members of her family that regarded her as a taint to her family name, and had killed her mother, were innocent of everything.
A half-vampire afraid of his own shadow and his own powers, hounded by his family as a stain on their reputation and by vampire hunters as a spawn of evil, choosing to seal within himself a potentially outstanding artifact. This person's troubles at least were much easier to solve, rather than the mental cases of their fellow Peerage.
And at the center of it all is her. Rias Gremory.
Day after day, Issei scrutinized the minds of Rias's peerage, getting closer and closer to their leader, wary of possible pitfalls and traps laid. Who was Rias Gremory? How had she managed to gather such servants around her? By what power did she keep them under control? Was she able to snuff out their fears and hatreds, or did she carefully nurture those, using fear and love in equal measure to direct them at her enemies? What lurked deep, beneath the deepest mask that even the reflected strangers in the mirror wore, looking into Rias' eyes every day?
Carefully, day after day, Issei had picked the key to the lock and now, at this moment, when the official negotiations were given the go-ahead, he had finally made up his mind. Using every ability, Issei had carefully penetrated Rias's mind and discovered… Nothing.
How could Rias control and direct her servants? To put it succinctly, she couldn't and she didn't. With the stubbornness of a fool, she ignored her servants' problems, barely keeping them in line, solely by sweet-talk, promises and meaningless gestures of support. That alone had kept her retinue in line, but only superficially.
Each of her 'followers' was always only half a step away from rebellion, their traumas and repressed emotions just waiting for the right moment to come out. Left like a suspended trap under her foot, waiting to snap her in twain at any moment.
The easiest of the lot to be brought into line, the half-vampire, was in separate confinement and Rias didn't even try to solve his problems, not even to make contact with him!
The reason for the uniqueness of her retinue? Nothing more than a series of coincidences and nepotism on the part of her patronizing and siscon older brother. A personage at the top of the entire Devil hierarchy of power, willing to provide his younger sister with the unique specimens that she couldn't use.
Her inner personality? Nothing. Dust. Boredom. As empty and meaningless as that of a passerby, her future was cloudless, her past was perfect, and the only thing that at all distinguished her from a mannequin was her desire to avoid her own wedding. But even in that wish there was no Freiheit. No more than a wish, a wish that she was ready to deny should circumstances arise in her path.
The only consolation for Issei, who had experienced such profound disappointment concerning the girl, was that she amused him somewhat. The idea of using Father in her plan to avoid an engagement, what monumental and yet absurdly humorous folly… And of course the light tad of burning rage at the temerity of this slip of a girl to even think of using his Father for her own goals.
But to rejoice in such a thing was like trying to take a bite of a fine cake, and finding that it was papier-mâché, and praising it for at least being chewable.
So Issei's mood was considerably spoiled, having to suppress the disappointed grimace on his face and pulled himself away from Rias's mind and back into the real world.
However, even if he had let his disappointed grimace show on his face, no one would have witnessed it. In the aftermath of his Father's machination, the trio of perverts had effectively broken up.
Issei, as the younger brother of the perpetrator, and the one who had certainly supported his older brother, had actually stopped interacting with his old friends. And those mehrfachmüll, fearing Father, had lost most of their common topics of conversation, surprised to find that, minus their perverted hobbies, they were rather boring people with not much in common with each other.
Matsuda and Motohama's friendship with each other ground to a halt, expecting them to still be friends even only after a month was pointless.
Putting those thoughts aside, however, Issei could return to far more pleasant musings. After all, his Father had issued a decree wanting to begin the work of gaining control of the underworld of this world, already preparing for the third step of his plan.
As one would expect from his Father.
Moreover, up until this point, Issei had sometimes wondered exactly what role Shalltear, sent to the Church of Fallen Angels, was supposed to serve. Well, now Issei knew that for sure.
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