Disclaimer: I own nothing of the properties within this story and all right rights go to the creators and companies of said properties

Beta: TheSlothfulOne

Chapter 3: The first step.

The day wasn't even over and I want to go home. After my meeting with Sona and crashing into Yumesaki, I just went back to class and just… go with the flow. Listen to the teacher, take notes, and answer questions. Before I know it, it was already time for lunch. I was tempted to pull out the sandwich I bought earlier for my inventory tests or to buy something from the system, but I'm not sure if the devils here wouldn't be noticed. I know there must be some kind of magic or energy made from my system, but I don't know if it would flare up if I pull something out. Guess that means I'm buying my lunch today, thank god I still have some cash left.

Thankfully, the cafeteria isn't like how you would see it in most animes, where everyone is fighting over pieces of bread, though maybe I might have missed it as most of the popular pieces of bread and sandwiches are gone. I grab a pock-cutlet sandwich, which is probably left behind because it must be cold, and milk, pay for my meal, thank the staff, and leave the cafeteria. I eat my food as I walk, and I was right about my sandwich being cold, and think about how to spend next period as it was my free period. Maybe the library? I do need to read up on how the stock trade works and I'm certain such a high-class school like Kouh would have books most schools wouldn't carry. Plus I do like to read and maybe it will help me escape the nightmare that's my life.

Fuck it, to the library.

I finish up my sandwich and milk by the time I reach the library, thank god I have Ren's memories so I won't have to ask for directions. I open the doors to see a fair decent size library, with books that one would normally see in a library. Non-fiction, fiction, study guides, history books, some books about careers and trades, and even some mangas. Luckily, there were some books about the stock market, mainly about the stock market crash but I did find some beginner guides so I grab those. I did find some books on chess, and it was tempting to grab one, but that would mean I want to have a rematch. And I rather not meet Sona outside of public viewing, and I'm in the crowd.

I take a sit with my books and start reading, taking down notes of anything of interest. I keep going for who knows how long, I only stop when I felt someone grab my shoulder.

"Nariyuki? I thought you said you'll be a bit late." a female voice said from behind me. I turn around to see the girl has long blue hair with a white headband, her brown eyes giving me a questioning look before slowly turning into a shocked look of realization. She's also wearing the Kouh female student uniform, and it was a bit weird seeing her in it as I was used to her wearing her canon outfit. Fumino Furuhashi, is one of the main girls of We Never Learn.

…

Honestly, I can deal with this. She is just a normal human, so I have no reason to sweat bullets. If anything I rather deal with them than the bullshit that is DxD.

"I'm so sorry! I thought you were someone else!" Furuhashi yells, waving her arms in a panic.

"Aren't you overreacting a bit Furuhashi?" a very short girl said. She's also wearing the female uniform, has light brown hair that's done in a bob cut, blue eyes, a pair of glasses. Though the part that stands out the most were her breasts. She is quite well-endowed and her small height made her bust even bigger. I would be lying if I said I didn't look at them for a second but I pull my eyes away before she could catch me staring. Hopefully.

Damn teenage hormones.

"You were the one that said 'There is Nariyuki.' Rizu!" Furuhashi yells at the short girl. I don't see Uruka with them, so maybe this is the beginning? The series did start around the fall semester so Nariyuki probably hasn't been asked to tutor Uruka yet.

Nariyuki… is an interesting person among the harem protagonists of this world. He's a normal human like me and comes from a poor background, wanting to earn a scholarship to ease the cost of entering college and to get a nice job to support his family. He also did try to improve himself by learning about how girls feel and think from Furuhashi. Hell, he even ends up with one of the five girls at the end, though that was more of a choose your own ending type deal. But in the end, he is better than Issei, way better. I can honestly respect the guy for wanting to mainly just help his friends and family.

Though I'm not sure how they mistake me for him, I have black and almost curly hair and Nariyuki has brown, straight hair. Then again Furuhashi and Ogata didn't remember Nariyuki's name despite him tutoring them for a week. And now I feel sorry for the guy.

I take a quick glance at the clock to see my next class will be starting soon. "It's fine, but I need to leave. My class will be starting soon and I need to check out these books. Though it was nice to meet you both." I told the girls. Furuhashi gave me one last 'sorry' and Ogata suggested that they should ask a teacher if they have seen him.

I made it to my next class and after that, the rest of the day went by like a blur. Before I really know it the teacher dismiss us and everyone goes their own way, either to home or to a club of sorts. I gather my stuff and leave the school grounds, feeling more tired than I ever have been. And it was only just the first day…

I want to say the walk toward my apartment complex was nice, but I would be lying. Knowing that in the shadows lays stray devils that want nothing more than to torture, rape, kill, and eat you! And the stray exorcists aren't any better! Freed literally torture a man that made contracts with Rias's group and tried to rape Asia! And knowing that those two are in this town makes me want to run for the hills!

New Mission Updated!

AND YOU REAR YOUR HEAD IN NOW!

I give a deep sigh and open the tab, might as well get it over it.

Mission 2: The first step at getting a girl comes from one's self.

People will always have standards, and sometimes one needs to make changes to improve themselves. This is your first step to becoming a true harem stealer! Find a method to improve one of your stats! And there is only so far one can go by themself, so look for a teacher while you're at it! Good luck~

Reward: 750 LP, one stat UP, and one cooldown week before receiving another lesson.

Bonus Reward: One teacher and 1000 LP

Failure: One cooldown week.

That… could be worse. Granted, I rather just go home but I do need some more LP. After my date with Mittelt and the meeting with Sona, I have fifteen-hundred or fifteen-thousand yen. And if I want to enter the stock market before all those good stocks booms, I need more cash. Maybe a part-time job should be something I need to consider. Cops would think I'm selling something illegal or I stole it if a normal middle-class high schooler walks around with most people's yearly paycheck when I don't have a job. And I can't just tell them I have some kind of magical system that gives me money, that will make my ticket go from jail to the crazy barn.

But what can I do? I could get a personal trainer but that cost money, so would the gym membership. I could go to a bookstore and buy books and magazines about exercise and fashion. But then I would lose out on the teacher bonus and sure it wasn't needed, however getting one will score me basically ten-thousand yen. Could there be lessons going on for free? Like for cooking? Doubtful but I should at least look.

At times like these, I turn to man's greatest ally and headache, the internet. I decide to head to a fast food joint with a familiar golden arc, order a burger, and take a seat to use the (not really) free wifi. Browsing through forums to see if there were any lessons that are also free. Just as my burger was done being made, I found something. A cooking lesson, that's not only free but near my apartment so I can run by my apartment, get changed, and head to the lesson before it starts. And I will still have time after my lesson to finish my homework.

I finish up my burger and sign up for the lesson online. The site says all I need to do is make sure I arrive within fifteen minutes before the lesson starts if possible. The lesson even said we can eat what we make as long we help with the cleaning so that takes care of dinner tonight. I rush home as soon as possible, get out of my uniform and change into something else, and start on my homework. Just because I could do it later doesn't mean I can't do it now as I wait for my cooking lesson. Besides, I rather use that time for something way more important than homework.

Learning how my system works.

I already started to experiment with the inventory but there are still a lot of questions left unsaid. Sure, I rather not have this thing and live a normal boring life but this thing might be the only thing that will keep me alive in this crazy overpowered world. I can't rely on knowledge from the Webtoon or gamer fanfics as this is entirely different. How could I use this system to defend myself against the world?

But I will worry about that tonight, if I start worrying about it now then forget the cooking lesson and the possible money and stat gain I would get. Just focus on the homework and not on how most things in this world could kill you with a bad fart.

The homework was… odd. Not hard really, outside the Japanese paper, but just odd. I know I was in college or out of school before all this and one would think I would breeze through these questions but some of them are actually hard. Then again, most things people learn tend to be forgotten unless it's part of their career path. Thankfully, Ren takes notes and good ones so that problem wasn't much of an issue.

By the time I finish my homework, the time is now six-thirty at night. And half an hour until the cooking lesson starts. I better head out now, it's already a fifteen-minute walk to the center where the lesson is being held at. I strip out of the Kouh uniform and put on something simple, a black hoodie and jeans, and left my apartment. As I walk towards the center, I look up the lesson again. It seems not all the lessons are free, as the first class is to get people interested in cooking and more importantly, additional lessons.

I arrive at the center and ask the first desk worker where the lesson was being held. The man told me that the lesson and kitchen area on the second floor, pointing me towards the end of the hallway to where the stairs are. I give the man a quick thank you and head for the stairs. Soon enough I hear people, meaning that's where the lesson is being held. I enter the room to see several different kinds of people, some middle-aged women, a couple of younger people that look around either high school or college-age with some of them on their phones, and two people that stand out.

The first one was a girl that was close to my age. Has shoulder-length orange hair, blue eyes, and is just like Ogata, an insane figure. It did take me a hot second to truly realize who she was due to her being in casual clothes, with them being a light blue shirt and a white skirt despite the seasons starting to change to fall. Of course, I would have a cooking class with Chisaki. I have to force the urge to facepalm. But the real shocker was who was my teacher.

He is a tall and medium-build man, wearing a white chef's outfit with a large chef's hat, blue eyes, and brown hair judging from what little amount of hair I can see below the hat. Another thing about the man that stands out is the fact he is caucasian, something that really stands out in a room full of Japanese people. But the thing that breaks the camel's back is I know who he is and I know he shouldn't be here!

"Hello class, my Tonio Trussardi! Oops! I guess I should say I'm Trussardi Tonio instead." Tonio said, rubbing the back of his head as he chuckles. "And I'm so glad to see so many people interested in the class! Remember this is just an introduction class to cooking Italian but the main goal is to hopefully get some younger people interested in cooking."

Why the fuck is Tonio teaching my class?! IS JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE IN THIS TOO?! I DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH MADE IN HEAVEN!

Wait, Ren! Calm down! Think about this logically. The system probably just made the teacher characters someone you know, to make it easier to find them. It would make a tad bit of sense, rather than betting on someone I know nothing about I would rather learn from someone I need, even if they were a character from a manga or anime. Meaning he just looks like Tonio, he probably has the same level of skills at cooking as the original but I doubt he would have Pearl Jam. Plus remember the facts, Tonio would be in Morioh during 1999. But here he is, looking the exact same as the anime.

"Ok, before we start with the lesson. Can someone tell me what is the most important step when cooking? How about you young man?" Tonio said, pointing at me.

Hooray… Good thing I know a bit about his character.

"Make sure to wash your hands and that your tools and ingredients are clean and fresh." I answer, with Tonio giving me a small slime.

"Not the answer I was looking for but that's a very good answer. Remember new cooks, keeping you, the kitchen, and its tools clean is just as, if not more important than the freshness of the food. Of course, you shouldn't be using any ingredients that have an odd odor, color, or any signs of mold or rot. If you don't follow those rules then someone will get very sick from your cooking." Tonio, losing the joking tone. "Let's see who else has an idea, how about the young lady?" pointing at Chisaki.

"Hmm… I guess it would be to see what I could cook with? I would want to make sure I could get some proper nutrition." Chisaki said, a finger on her chin as she thought her answer.

"Yes~! A meal's nutritional value is the most important part of cooking. How you eat now will affect your body five years from now, so learning how to cook a bit healthier is an important task for your future self." Tonio said. "But eating healthier doesn't mean you will have to sacrifice flavor. And you don't necessarily have given up on things like fast food, I know I enjoy a burger every now and again. This is my goal in this class and every future class, to teach you how to cook healthier and tastier food."

Cooking food that is both good for you and taste good? That doesn't sound too bad, I do want to live a long life so maybe having a better diet would be smart.

"Now, since today's lesson is free, as well the ingredients you will be using, I going to make you all partner up into groups of two people. There will be plenty of food to cook your own meals as I can see some of you skipping dinner to eat here." Tonio said. Damn, what a way to be called out.

Tonio goes to the biggest cooking station, probably where he be showing us how to cook, and reaches for something behind the counter. Soon enough he pulls out a large box and several pieces of paper. "Seeing we have twelve people here today, meaning there will be six groups. Each person will come up one at a time and pull a slip of paper with a number listed one through six, and as you could guess your partner will share the same number. Now come up to grab your slip." Tonio said as put the slip into the box and gave it a good shake.

I quickly walk up and grab my slip, not even going to look at it cause I already know how this is going to go. I walk up to Chisaki and flash her my slip.

"Guess we going to be partners huh?" Chisaki asked, to which I nod. Of course, we are. Stupid game…

"Ok, now that everyone is finished paring up, it's time to see what we are cooking today! All the ingredients you will be needing are in premade boxes, so just grab a box from the cooler and we can begin." Tonio said as he stands next to a large refrigerator.

Seeing as I was the guy of the group I go up and retrieve the box and head back to Chisaki, who was already washing her hands with an apron on. I grab the black apron and put it on myself, wash my hands, start pulling out everything from the box. The contents were a packet of chicken breasts, two tomatoes, a log of mozzarella cheese, a head of lettuce, a jar of some kind of dressing, and a bottle of balsamic vinaigrette.

"Today class, I'm going to show a simple Italian dish, but with a small add-on. A Caprese salad is a very beginner-friendly start to Italian cooking as it is only three ingredients. Tomatoes, mozzarella, and the Caprese dressing. I would normally show people how to make this dressing from scratch but I don't know how many of you have cooked before so asking you to finely mince some foods might be too much." Tonio explains before grabbing the chicken. "As for the chicken and lettuce? That's to make sure the is actually filling as a Caprese salad is just that, a salad. For the chicken and lettuce, I would see you try making a simple grill chicken on a bed of lettuce. I also have a few boxes of spinach for those that want to use it." Tonio said before he starts slicing his first tomato.

Better get started. "Excuse me, would it be ok if you cook the chicken while I work on the salad? I never really cooked with meat before." I ask Chisaki.

"Sure and by the way, I'm Miyazaki Chisaki." Chisaki said, introducing herself. Didn't I already introduce myself or did I forget? This is a problem with knowing every big character.

"Takahashi Ren. I'm going to start now ok?" I ask. Thankful Chisaki nodded and is already starting to cook the chicken.

I know I already met a lot of the cast of the show but still, all of them are really pretty. I was expecting that from people like Sona and Rias, but people like Ogata and Furuhashi are still very pretty. Ogata with her cute looks with her curvy body and Furuhashi's slim body and pretty eyes.

And Chisaki is no exception. She is also quite beautiful herself, between her figure and her looks there was no surprise to why she has people trying to make her into an idol or model.

"Um… can I help you?" Chisaki asks.

"No? Why?" I ask back. Why did she ask me that?

"Because you have been staring at me for a while now…" Chisaki trails off, evening moving back a bit.

Damn it. I know this is day two but I really can't make this a habit. Good thing I know how to fix this. Unless the game says otherwise…

…

Nothing? Odd. Could it be because this is a lesson and not me being on a date or trying to impress someone? It doesn't matter, a free pass is what I need.

"Sorry, it feels like I have seen you somewhere before. Do you go to Kuoh Academy by chance? I'm a second-year there." I explain to her. Thankfully, she calms down a bit but I feel like she is still wary of me. She did deal with people trying to date her, so maybe she's worried that I will be the same?

Fortunately, there was all that really happens. Outside I made some uneven cuts with some slices being too thick or too thin. And I might pour a tad too much dressing on my plate, but I did learn a bit more about cooking. We finish cooking, eat our meals, help clean the kitchen, and I signed up for the next lesson. Though Chisaki signed up for the next one so we will be meeting each other again. Each lesson cost around five-thousand yen, which is a lot to someone with no job, but the system pretty much paid for the lesson and more with the mission.

Skill UP!

Creativity levels up to Slightly Above Average!

Today has been a ride, one I hope will never happen again. But now it's over, my homework is finished, and I had dinner. Now I just want to take a hot bath and go the fuck to sleep. I feel like I aged five years just from today…

Did I say that I was happy that my apartment is so close to the center? Because it really was a blessing. It was already dark and the dark now just scares me. Guess any job I will take will have to be done in the comfort of my room. Hopefully, there will be some jobs like the ones from Persona 4. But now I am home and I can finally look into how this stupid system wor-

New Mission Update!

I JUST GOT HOME FROM ONE!

I swear this thing is taking the piss… I open the mission to see what this one is about.

Mission 3: Love comes in all shapes and sizes

Viser is in town and only you can save her from her fate! Find her before Rias and her peerage can!

Time Limit: 24 hours

Reward: Viser's route will unlock, 1500 LP, and magic teacher will be gained.

Failure: Viser's route will be locked, 500 LP, and Viser will die.

Viser? As in the first Stray Devil that literally eats a person when she was first shown? The same Viser that fires acid from her tits? You what me to stick my neck out to save her?

"HAHAHA! No…" I told the system. Sure I accept the mission but I have no intention to save her ass. I plan to let her die, because if she was killing people then I'm not getting close to her. I'm just going to profit from her death. Sure the idea of getting someone to teach me magic is tempting but again, fuck Viser.

Now it's time to actually mess with the system. First I pull out the food items and they were still as fresh as when I put them in. Then the stopwatch, I had it running since this morning and the watch's timer hasn't even passed a minute. Meaning either time has stopped for items in the inventory or just moves very slowly. The map part was basically that, a map but with hopping chibi art of all the girls that I have met. It feels like I'm stalking them…

Ignoring that for now. I push on the chibi art of Sona, with said artwork being her holding a stack of paper in one hand and a pen in the other.

Sona Sitri - The Sitri Heiress

Likes - chess, her peerage, ?

Dislikes - Someone commenting on her 'size', boring puzzles, ?

Sizes - ?

Hearts - 0/10

Thoughts - This could be an interesting side project

Side project? What side project?! This is why I didn't want to meet her! I just have to act normal and hope she will lose interest over time. Odd that there is more information on Sona's sheet than Mittelt's when I first met her. It makes sense for Mittlet's to reveal more after the date but I didn't go on one with Sona. Maybe because I have some canon knowledge of her, unlike Mittelt? Then I should have access to the sheets of all of the female characters, especially the We Never Learn cast as I finished the manga before coming here and I only have Ogata and Furuhashi's sheet.

And even those are incomplete.

Maybe the system page has some answers? It weird place to hide tips and tricks but why else would it be there? Besides, maybe I could do something funny. Like muting everyone during a rant.

Opening the system page had nothing much. It really looked more like one of those message boards for online games when they updated the game, such as Master Duel. There were only three messages. A welcome message that gives a basic overview of the system and what I already learned. The second message was about how that stats level up from certain actions and as the levels go higher, the more training or higher the difficulty is needed to level up more. In other words, I'm the school life side to a Persona character. The last message is the most important as it mentions something known as Heart Gems, something I gain from getting maxed out hearts from a girl.

The system explains that three are three different colors that fill a heart gauge: Red/pink, yellow, and blue. Pink means romantic love, it is hard to fill but when filled the girl or 'target' will fall for me. Yellow means friendship love, making the girl see me as something like a best friend or brother and it is way easier to fill than pink. But if I do that then that girl will only see me as a friend, not the worse thing in my eyes. Blue is disliked and it is quite easy to fill as well, but unlike yellow, I can improve on their relationship but the game states it will be an uphill battle. Also, if the heart gauge is completely blue then the route will be locked and that character will despise me.

And the idea of making enemies doesn't sound good so I should try not to step on people's toes.

Heart Gems are… interesting in a way. If I have to compare them to something, it would be something similar to the stats buffs in games or skill boost. I can use the gems to increase my mana pool, raise my stats without training, or gain boons that affect my lovers. Overall, these are things most gamers would be after. But that would mean getting closer to some of the girls, which in turn means getting closer to the supernatural.

Then again, maybe I could go after one of We Never Learn girls or one of the few human girls from the other series? Ogata and Furuhashi are quite cute and are certainly human. Would I feel bad for taking one of Nariyuki's girls? Probably, but the series had multiple endings. One of them was even the classic 'all the girls fall onto the protagonist just as the magical romance thing that says the two people will be destined to end up together happened'. I won't know which route I'm in until the school festival.

I will think about it later, I want to take a bath and sleep. I'll think about getting a girlfriend once I'm the stock king, plus there isn't even a girl I like.

'Oh~ I'm that pretty?'

"Wha?!" I turn around, looking to see if someone was behind me! But no one was there. I was certain I heard someone, and that voice sounded just like…

Not again…

"God damn it…" I told myself. Get her out of your mind man! You will probably never meet her again and here you are, thinking of her when the topic of girlfriends came up. It was one date and sure I saw a side of her I never knew but it doesn't change the fact that she could have killed me. Hell, if the date failed then I would have been killed by her already! You probably had Sona on your ass because you decided to play the knight role and cover for her!

…

"I'm too tired for this shit…"

{Bouns Scene 1: My desire to becoming equals}

{Yumesaki's P.O.V.}

How was that possible? I just thought that it was my imagination but the more I think about it, the more certain of the fact. That student had seen my eyes and was unaffected. And I know I didn't suddenly gain complete control of my powers. Normally I wear contacts to keep my powers from causing chaos and I lost them today! I was worried to death about accidentally making a student or a whole group go crazy! If that happened then the Sitri and Gremory heiresses would have kicked me out of Kuoh at least!

I just wanted to teach and somehow I ended up with two students being the younger sisters of two of the most powerful devils in history! They even tried to recruit me into their peerage once they learned about my succubus nature, but that stopped after they learn about my complete lack of control over my powers and my dislike of the idea of fighting. The Sitri heiress still tries at times but she says it is because she plans to run a school of her own making and wants someone with teaching experience to help her. She seemed to be telling the truth but you can't be sure with devils…

"Harumu? Are you listening to me?"

I snapped out of my thoughts as my friend and co-worker spoke.

"Sorry… Something is on my mind…" I told my friend. In times like these, I wished for better control over my powers so I could at least drink. "But we really shouldn't be worrying over work Mafuyu."

My friendship with Mafuyu has been a weird one. We started teaching around the same time and just bonded over our careers. But even though we started at the same time, our students see us in very different lights. Mafuyu is the beautiful but ice-cold queen of Kuoh, someone that's very blunt on her judgments but people normally would follow it since it was from 'the perfect teacher', though I had seen her less than perfect side. I, on the other hand, am the complete opposite. The shy teacher that students at times tease.

"I wish I could forget about work for a moment. If I'm not dealing with those two girls then I have to deal with the three perverts." Mafuyu said before taking another sip of her beer. "One of these days, I'm getting you to drink. It feels weird that I'm the only one drinking here while you drink your soda."

If you only know what happened the first and last time I was drunk, your tune would change…

"Why do those girls have to be so hard?! Why is it so hard to go with your strengths?! If they go to a college with the subjects that they showed talent in then they won't be wasting their last few high school days studying…" Mafuyu said, trailing off at the end as she takes another sip of her drink.

I can't help but give a small smile to my slowly drunk friend. Her words might be a bit harsh but I know what she really wants. She wants what is best for her students. I know Mafuyu truly cares about her students and at one time would even be happy to help students chase after their dreams, no matter how impossible it seems. But after seeing the girl trying so hard to make a career out of playing piano crying, wishing that she never tried aiming for music school caused her to change. That's why she is so cold, to help her students the best way she can think of.

"But enough about me going on about my troublesome students, you said you have something on your mind?" Mafuyu ask.

"It isn't something much… I just run into a student and I caused us to fall to the ground. I was about to apologize but he run away after helping me up. I really wanted to say that I'm sorry to him because it was partly my fault." I told her.

"Why am I not surprised? If anything I should be more surprised that it doesn't happen more often with how your bangs always cover your eyes. You really should get them trimmed before you actually injure yourself." Mafuyu told me, to which I nod but we both know I'm not doing that. "If it really bothers you, I could help you find him. Do you know who he is?"

"No, but I know that he has glasses!" I told her. Normally I wouldn't want to meet a guy because I fear the 'what ifs' that would come from my powers going wild, but this student seems to be immune to my powers! What if I could learn about how he was immune, finding a way to control or at least dull my powers down to a level where people won't go crazy? Are there risks to this? Yes, but I missed several things in life from my fears. And now someone that is unaffected by my powers shows up. Should I let myself be beheld back from any possibility of me actually getting a more normal life? No, I won't.

"Is that it? If you want me to find him, I need more than that because I can at least think of ten male students with glasses on the top of my mind." Mafuyu groans, finishing what's left of her drink. She isn't wrong… Kuoh still has a few hundred male students and countless of them probably have glasses. Was there anything else that could narrow the search?

Wait… Of course!

"He had the second year tie-clip!" I told her.

"That's something at least… That removes one student I know." Mafuyu trails off. Who was she talking about now? "Guess I will start looking tomorrow."

"Thank you Mafuyu!" I said. I could hug you for this!

"Don't thank me yet, you're paying for tonight if I'm doing extra work." Mafuyu states, ordering another beer. I guess that's fair, it isn't like I'm hurting for money at the moment with me being single and everything.

Besides, it will be worth it. If I could learn how he was immune to my powers, I want to make it so at least Mafuyu is immune as well. I want to look at her, straight in the eyes, and tell everything. I want to get drunk with her, talk about the annoying things about work, watch movies, and more without me fearing that one misstep, one gust of wind, or me being careless to cause Mafuyu to fall under my power and ruin her reputation. I want us to be real friends, true equals.

And if it cost me a bit of money? Then I will be happy.

"Waiter!"

{Bouns Scene 2: A ripple in the timeline}

{Mittelt's P.O.V.}

Fucking damn it Raynare! How can someone so old be so stupid?! Is she getting Alzheimer's? Because that's the only reason she could do something so stupid!

… Though I can't say I'm much better. I just follow the motions. Raynare said that Azazel give her a mission to watch a sacred gear holder? Where to? Azazel gives her the order to kill said, sacred gear holder? Who is doing it? I just nod my head and go along with it.

And now I realize how deep in shit we are. Watching and maybe recruiting a gear holder is fine. We even have a devil in our ranks because he is one! But sending us to the territory of two high-class devils? Both who are the little sisters of the devil leaders, that are also the strongest female and male devils in history?! Azazel would have never done something that, especially when one wrong move could spark the Great War from its cold war state! Azazel had gone on record several times before about how he does not want the Great War to continue.

My day was going so well too before this! Besides Kalawarna teasing about my boyfriend. We only went on one date! And the only reason I went on it was that he was able to get me into a restaurant I had been wanting to go to since I came to this town! And the plushy was a nice bonus! Nothing more!

But my day did start out great. I enjoy a nice breakfast, none of the weird priests made a move on me (especially Freed, fuck that psycho), and even one of my eggs hatched into a shiny! Things were good until Dohnaseek brought up that the Gremory heiress had turned Raynare's target into a devil and her servant. Meaning that all we did is give the devils a new sacred gear user, one that Azazel himself was interested in so we might have given them a powerful gear at that! While Kalawarna suggesting to use that one outfit Raynare wear to their date in the hopes of her actually doing her job right. Raynare said she only wears that outfit on the off chance that the target's gear awakens then he would be distracted by her tits and already thrown it away.

I was there laughing my butt off until a thought hit me like a truck. Why would Azazel have a gear holder killed? Why do it where there are devils that could add him into our ranks? Why wasn't the mission turned to a recruit if possible? Raynare had the guy wrapped around her finger if her story was true, and with how the target's record states he's a super pervert it was probably true. We lose a potentially powerful sacred gear to the devils.

Sure I could just Raynare is an idiot, like how she didn't destroy the body before leaving. Or researching if the devils don't have any spare pieces to use on the guy. But Azazel isn't an idiot, he is our race's leader after all!

Things have even gotten more strange when I remember we have a gear removal device, something that Azazel condemns as it kills the subject. And Raynare says Azazel gave it to us to remove a nun's gear. Then why didn't we use it on the target? The nun would be stuck with us for a while, I'm certain we could use it to gain the guy's gear and the nun's at a later date!

Then an idea pops into my mind, a horrible one. What if someone told Raynare to do these things under the guise of the orders coming from Azazel himself? If that's the case, we are fucked! We are probably labeled as rouges and if either one of the devil heiresses kills us then Azazel will just shrug his shoulders!

So that's why I'm flapping my wings, moving as fast as I can to get back to Grigori. I'm trying to save my and Kalawarna's lives. I don't really care if Raynare and Dohnaseek. Raynare caused us to be in this mess in the first place so if she dies then she had it coming and Dohnaseek is too battle-hungry to see reason most of the time! Besides, he calls Pokemon a baby's game…

He deserves to burn.

But I actually like Kalawarna. Yeah, she is the laziest person I ever met but she isn't that bad of a person. She never really teased me about my interests like Donhaseek or questioned my abilities like Raynare. She just lets me do my own thing and I let her do her own. We respect the fact there are things we rather do than work.

She owns me one for working myself to death to keep her alive! Normally I would just teleport to Grigori but I can't be sure if whoever has been giving Raynare the possible false order isn't watching her. So I teleport a bit away from the base, hoping to bland in among the crowds of fallen until I reach Azazel. Either my plan works or whoever this mastermind is just doesn't care.

I don't care at this point as I divebomb straight through the entrance, sliding towards the front desk. "I need to speak with Lord Azazel! This is important!" I told the front desk lady, who is one of the few people with a direct line towards Azazel without being a Cadre Fallen.

"You and most people. Let me guess, this 'important business' is just you trying to see if you could seduce him?" the front lady asks, making me blush with how I hear people joking about me behind my back. If Raynare lives after this, I'm so going to kill her myself.

"NO! My sin is gluttony for one and this really is important!" I yell at the woman. This is exactly why I hate the HR department!

"Then what is it? I can send him a message and we could schedule you an appointment at a later date." the woman said, chewing her gum as she talks.

"It can't wait! I need to speak with him NOW!" I scream. I wanted to beat Cynthia with my Dark-type only team, not dealing with this shit!

"Speak to me about what?"

I turn around to see him, Azazel himself. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit starstruck at seeing the black and blonde mixture of his hair and his black goatee. I'm standing in front of the strongest Fallen angel in history!

Not now Mittelt! Fangirl later! Save yourself and your friend from death by devils now!

"You see sir… It is about- about the-the miss-mission…" I try speaking but my tongue fell all knotted. Am I worrying that he would punish me since I was part of Raynare's group? Azazel wouldn't punish me for that!

… He wouldn't right?

"Seems like I made the little lady nervous." Azazel said, giving a small laugh. "Don't worry, calm down and set a time and you can tell me all about what you have to tell me later." Azazel finishes before starting to walk away.

NO! I can't let this chance getaway!

"IT IS ABOUT THE ASSASSINATION MISSION ON ISSEI HYOUDOU!" I yell at the top of my lungs. Was I being a tad overdramatic? Yes, but it feels like it was the only way to force it out.

"Assassination mission? I never send out such an order…" Azazel trails off. At least I did my job right.

All of a sudden the very air itself feels thicker, almost making it impossible to breathe!

"You are going to tell me… everything." Azazel said, sending chills down my spine. I'm not dealing with the happy leader Azazel anymore. Now I'm dealing with Azazel, the man that led our faction in the Great War, the person that fought against the Satans, God, and the Heavenly Dragons…

I'm dealing with the monster known as Azazel, the man with the Forbidden Knowledge…

I just wanted to play Pokemon…

Author's note

We are now seeing the ripple effect of Ren's actions, or rather the system's. Pretty soon the fallen arc will really get started. Also, the teachers are based on characters I like and they will be side-characters with ten lessons to teach Ren. Basically, they are the Persona Social Link characters that are not part of the party. Hopefully, you guys enjoy this chapter, and the next one I plan to focus on more of Ren dealing with non-DxD characters though some might get a scene or two.

Also, I'm part of the Shiro's Gaming Omniverse Discord. So, if you guys want to chat with me on discord I have a channel, as small as it is.

discord .gg/wd3tUYWVCd

Hope to see guys there! Later!