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he train that connected the cities of Shiba and Kuoh took 2 hours for its journey, two hours that Hachiman, who was seated in one of the carriages, spent pondering why he had been called. Hachiman had no clue why he had been summoned to the Gremory territory. He even called his father to inquire about what was happening, and his father calmly told him that he had no idea but advised him to bring a cake as a gesture of consideration. That's why Hachiman found himself on a train, gazing out the window with a cheesecake he had bought on sale at the supermarket.

"Come on, Hachiman, she was just your childhood friend, and she's probably upset about something you don't even remember doing. But don't bring it up, for your own sake. You've spent a whole year interacting with an ice harpy, and now you're in your third year. You can handle this," thought Hachiman as he tried to relax and prepare to face his childhood friend, Akeno Himejima, both metaphorically and literally.

As Hachiman arrived in Kuoh, he felt as though he had crossed a powerful barrier, making his skin tingle with the awareness that he was now in the jurisdiction of another race, and any action he took could lead to trouble. Stepping off the train, his first instinct was to scan the people around him, a peculiar habit of his, but one that helped him avoid potential dangers. In this case, it indicated that there was at least no execution squad nearby, unlike that time in Shibuya when a group of onmyouji mistook him for a malevolent tengu and tried to imprison him for a thousand years. He had only come to buy a discounted game, but the silver lining was that Japanese gods took pity on him and gave him a lifelong 10% discount coupon for temple products.

With that in mind, Hachiman began to stroll through the city towards the designated address, which happened to be an abandoned local temple due to the presence of gods.

"It may be abandoned, but it's still sacred ground to the gods of this land, and I don't think anyone would attempt a murder on holy land. So, I can rule that out," thought Hachiman, feeling a bit more at ease as he walked through Kuoh City. Nothing particularly caught his interest as he was a bit of a puritan from Chiba.

"Nice city, but they don't have Batman, so Chiba 1, Kuoh 0," was Hachiman's thought as he explored the city. He also noted that the appearance of the citizens was quite normal, which was a good sign as it indicated that the city was well defended, not as well defended as Shiba, but Kuoh held its own.

Such thoughts put Hachiman at ease, transforming him from a scared chicken into a confident individual, proving that Diogenes was right that the plucked chicken was a man. However, when he stood in front of the temple stairs, all that confidence vanished as his gaze met that of a woman, a beautiful woman who seemed to step out of great paintings or sculptures of old, a woman who would be the muse of any mortal lucky enough to have her love.

Such beauty that stood out in every aspect, her long black hair like the night, her purple eyes reminiscent of ancient royal garments, her ample bosom that made Yui seem modest in comparison, and a height that gave her a model-like aura in her priestess attire, accentuating all her charms times ten. This woman was Akeno Himejima, Hachiman's childhood friend. You might be wondering how someone as unremarkable as Hachiman could have such a beauty as a childhood friend. Well, there was an explanation that Hachiman had realized from the moment he first saw the girl.

Their two parents were friends, and Akeno's father was none other than the angel who had earned the title of "God's Lightning" Baraquiel, a man who, under the hand of God, was one of His most powerful angels. When he chose to fall in love with humanity, he became one of the greatest heroes of the war. The angel closest to the 12 wings (the highest rank) that fell before receiving his final pair, but that didn't prevent his power from rivaling that of 12-winged angels, serving as an example of power for many young ones in Grigory.

And the result of his love in Japan was the beautiful woman standing before Hachiman.

"Hachiman," Akeno pronounced with a dry voice that shattered poor Hachiman's pure heart into pieces.

"Damn, just like when I met Yukino. Am I the definition of an anti-Yamato Nadeshiko? I thought the only thing I was lacking was being passionate," thought Hachiman while nervously greeting Akeno.

"A-Akeno-chan, it's been a while. I brought cake," was Hachiman's response, which showed he was a plucked chicken in the eyes of a hawk.

"Follow me, Rias wants to see you," Akeno said as she turned away, ignoring Hachiman, who could only follow her with a nervous smile.

"Rias, what does Lucifer's little sister want from me? I mean, I haven't had much contact with her, and all I remember is that she was a flat redhead," was Hachiman's thought. He couldn't help but have certain perverted thoughts, but he blamed it on his fallen angel nature, or at least that's what his Uncle A, as the young ones in Grigory liked to refer to him to make him feel young, had told him. It was clear that Uncle A was in a perpetual midlife crisis.

Uncle A had told him that when he reached adolescence, he would start exhibiting certain natural behaviors that would be amplified by his fallen angel nature. Therefore, displaying a cold personality might challenge the effects. But thinking about that, Hachiman sometimes wondered if it was a joke from his uncle because it was the same period when he was acting like a chuuni.

"That reminds me, I need to burn all the books from that dark past, like the ones that bastard with shonen syndrome gave me. Seriously, I went from chuuni to having shonen syndrome. God, being handsome drives you crazy," was the thought that passed through Hachiman's mind as he walked, once again getting distracted from his surroundings by senseless ideas.

"We're here, Hachiman. Come in," Akeno spoke coldly, snapping Hachiman out of his thoughts. He reacted immediately, using one of his 108 abilities, the 24th, which allowed him to transition from being lost in thought to fully aware of his surroundings in seconds.

"Not even Shinichi Kudo reacts as quickly as I do when he sends his father-in-law to sleep," thought Hachiman as he opened the temple door and saw a group of teenagers seated around a red-haired woman.

It was a small group, and most of them he recognized because he felt like he had seen them before. But what caught his attention the most was the woman in the center. If Akeno was the embodiment of Japanese beauty with Mount Everest in her cleavage, the woman in the center was the ideal European beauty with the same Mount Everest in her cleavage. Hachiman was left stunned because he recognized her immediately.

"Damn, what do they feed people in the underworld? How did they turn a board like Yukino into someone with Mount Everest in her cleavage? Is it magic or surgery? I swear, I'm willing to die if I can uncover this secret and tell Yukino," was Hachiman's thought as he noticed the remarkable transformation of the woman in front of him. Rias Gremory, the princess of the underworld, had undergone the most significant change Hachiman had ever seen since he witnessed two monkeys cheating on each other at the zoo.

"Akeno already had big ones; no wonder she was known as an oppai loli, but what I'm seeing is a complete miracle," Hachiman thought.

Then Hachiman shifted his gaze to the other two members who greeted him because they had met in the past.

"Hayama 2.0 is still handsome, or maybe I can even say he got more handsome over the years. Is this the difference between an ancient noble and the rich of today? I could write a thesis on that. And Koneko is still adorable. God, I hope she doesn't gain heaps of fat in three years," was Hachiman's thought as he returned the greetings of Kiba and Koneko.

But at that moment, a voice caught Hachiman's attention.

"Hey, you. Are you insulting breasts?" It was a male voice addressing Hachiman, who, upon seeing him, could tell that he was a normal Japanese guy. However, unlike other normal guys, something about this young man gave him a sense of familiarity.

"Damn, is he telepathic? But what is this feeling in my chest? Is this what it's like to meet someone on your level? Is this what I can call a friend?" Hachiman thought, feeling elated, while back in Chiba, Zaimokuza suffered a meltdown.

"Why do I feel like you're insulting me? Are you looking down on me?" said the man with a hint of anger as Hachiman ignored him, caught up in the feeling of equality upon seeing this young man, someone who could finally be considered an equal in this world.

"Issei-san, calm down. You're going to upset Buchou," a blonde-haired, green-eyed woman spoke, bringing a sense of calm to Hachiman.

"Damn, he even has a girlfriend, and I don't feel threatened. Is this the orange thread of friendship... my legendary bro?" Hachiman thought, ignoring Issei's attitude.

"I'm sorry, Asia, and Buchou... it's just that being near fallen angels still bothers me," Issei explained as he calmed down and returned to his position.

"A bit racist, but I can work with that. Don't worry, my friend, I'll face these challenges for the sake of our friendship," Hachiman spoke, inspired in that moment like never before.

"I'm sorry about that, Hachiman. Issei didn't mean to sound offensive; it's just that I had a certain problem with some fallen angels a month ago, and he's still coming to terms with it," Rias said calmly, asserting her leadership role.

"Don't worry, Gremory-san. I believe that if we get to know each other better, we can get along. The actions of a few shouldn't be used to judge an entire race," Hachiman replied calmly, without feeling any resentment towards Issei's initial attitude. This was quite unusual for people who knew Hachiman, like Akeno, who was surprised to see Hachiman forgive Issei so quickly, giving him a death glare that startled him.

What Akeno didn't know was that Hachiman was so used to encountering people above his level that finding someone in his same category made any initial offense quickly forgotten in favor of the opportunity to form a friendship. In love, it's called love at first sight, but in this case, it was friendship at first sight!

"I didn't know you were so understanding, Hachiman-san. So, feel free to call me by my name as well," Rias intentionally said to see Akeno's reaction behind Hachiman.

Sensing that he might end up as a donut if he chose his words poorly, Hachiman replied cautiously, "I prefer 'Gremory-san.' I'm still not comfortable with being too informal with an underworld princess, hehehe."

"Oh, what a pity. But if everything goes well with a certain event, you'll soon be a resident of the underworld, and there we can be much closer," Rias responded, all intentionally, to enjoy Akeno's reaction, who behind Hachiman displayed a reaction that caused Kiba, Issei, Asia, and even the stoic Koneko to look away.

"I hope everything goes well, but changing the subject because I feel like if I keep talking, a lightning bolt will split me in two... Why was my presence requested? As long as there's tension, it's still somewhat tense, and I'm someone 'relatively' important in Grigory," Hachiman said, growing increasingly frightened of ending up like Ace, with his Sacred Gear embedded in his heart, which also shared his anxiety.

"Oh, I almost forgot for the fun of it," Rias said with an ojousama smile that Hachiman could recognize anywhere, as a certain ice harpy used to laugh in the same manner, which had him terrified.

"Hachiman, you are a man of fire and with some invulnerability," Rias pronounced as she summoned a rather bulging envelope.

"Yes, you could say that. The only thing I can guarantee is that probably outside of the sun goddess herself, there's no one hotter than me in all of Japan," Hachiman joked, but the joke went awry because the feeling of becoming a donut returned.

"Oh, it seems like you have a lot of confidence in how hot you are. I'd love to get to know that much more intimately," Rias said intentionally, making Hachiman break into a sweat.

"Ojousama, please don't continue with the joke; my immortal life is getting shorter," thought a sweating Hachiman, feeling like that little joke had shaved centuries off his immortal existence.

"Damn, Ace, do your words of not wanting to live a thousand years also affect your fans?" Hachiman thought, frightened, while Rias, like a goddess, took pity on the poor fallen angel and decided not to continue the joke

"I would like to hire your services as a coach for a rating game. Your skills are what I need for practice, and I plan to pay you quite handsomely," Rias stated.

"Oh, money, the universal language regardless of race or religion. Let me see how much it is, if you don't mind," Hachiman replied as he took the envelope and, upon opening it, noticed it was filled with 10,000 yen bills.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... 30, 50, 80, 100... Wait, is this a million yen? This is 100 times my allowance. How many Max Cafés can I buy with this?" Hachiman thought, astonished by the amount of money in the envelope. While he got lost in thoughts about how many Max Cafés he could buy with it, Rias spoke to him again.

"It may seem like a small amount for a fallen angel of your caliber, but don't worry; this is just the initial payment. I'm willing to offer an additional 10 million yen regardless of whether it turns out well or not," Rias stated with a seriousness that forced Hachiman to use one of his 108 abilities, the 16th one: not fainting when there's a lot of money, and to remain composed.

"In the face of such an offer from a beautiful lady, what kind of man would refuse? So, my lady, I humbly offer my services," Hachiman expressed as he knelt down like a butler before Rias, and his dead fish eyes transformed into the shape of the Japanese yen.

With the amount of money in front of him, Hachiman no longer cared about the sensation of becoming a donut, which had intensified tenfold due to his action. The allure of money had blinded him, and that was a problem for another chapter. Greed was another characteristic of fallen angels, and Hachiman had fallen victim to it.