I examined the white stone box in front of me, the one that contained my Evil Pieces. Traditionally, it should have been presented to me by the Lord of my House, along with a speech that was meant to contain some moral or piece of advice for how to use them.

Seeing as I had been orphaned in this world, there was no Lord to give me the Pieces. Instead, they had been unceremoniously handed off to me by Ajuka Beezelbub, who was now staring at me as if I was a particularly interesting lab animal. The green-haired Satan had yet to speak a word to me after I entered his lab and exchanged greetings, something I'm sure was meant to be some sort of power play or attempt to unbalance me.

Not particularly caring for whatever game he was playing, I decided if he didn't want to talk with me then it was not my responsibility to start up a conversation. Leaning on the research into the Pieces that I did when looking up the Old Satan Faction, I put the pad of my thumb over the sapphire set prominently in the centre of the box. I could feel the prick of magic against my skin, as insanely complex spells flared to life. I felt something pounding on the barriers of Information Defence, but I didn't even attempt to fight it, letting it pass without challenge.

The rock flashed a light blue, the colour of my Demonic Power, and it was done. The pieces inside were now bound to me and I could use them to build my peerage as I saw fit. Deciding to wait until I made it back to my Manor before opening the box, I nodded to the Satan in acknowledgement and picked it up, moving to leave. As I did however, the Satan finally spoke.

"Are you not curious about what they look like? Most can't wait to open it up." His expression hadn't changed, watching, analysing.

I couldn't help the snark in my retort, "They look like chess pieces, I would imagine."

He let it pass un-remarked, if he even noticed. "Indeed." He continued, "And yet, still, these are things that will influence the entire rest of your life as a Devil. The fact that you are not at least curious, is in itself curious."

He cocked his head to the side, contemplating, "I have an exchange, if you will. One I am sure you will appreciate. There are many secrets locked away in these Pieces, secrets that many would kill to have. I will grant one of them to you. In exchange, you will answer one of my questions truthfully in turn."

I paused at that, confused, "You could just order me to answer your question anyway. I am in no position to refuse."

He inclined his head, conceding the point, but rebutted, "I could. But deals have power, and our race is one with long memories. I would prefer for you to be willing."

Prefer, not need. I could see the writing on the wall, if I refused to play his game he would command me to answer anyway. I bit the inside of my cheek, controlling my irritation, before accepting, "Fine. I'll take your deal."

He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes as they were still picking apart my every movement, "Splendid. You may go first."

I thought of what to ask him. There were many things I was unsure about, even more when it came to the Evil Pieces themselves. The Anime of Highschool DxD was extremely light on details about how any of it's magic or plot devices actually worked. For example the Sacred Gears, did the have to go to a compatible soul, or was it purely luck of the draw? What determined compatibility? Was it drive, strength of will, or something else? I did not know. Now I was actually living it, I was finding out what precious little I actually knew.

The crux of the matter however, is the fact that I knew so little meant that I didn't know exactly what to ask him to get the most out of this deal, assuming he would even answer truthfully. After a long silence in which I was working the problem over in my head, I decided to ask something that would assist me in my plan for my first target. First, though, I needed to disguise my actual question.

"The Pieces resurrect others into Devils." I began, "Devils naturally have the ability to grow into their ideal forms as the age. Does this ability extend to those that are resurrected? Can the King control whether their pieces age?"

He blinked, obviously surprised at my question. He kept his thoughts to himself however, then answered, "It does. Their soul gains most of the traits of a Devil upon resurrection, over time these traits bleed through to affect the body. As King, you do have some control over the appearance of your peerage, but as with a lot of things regarding Magic and Souls, willpower plays a part. Should they wish to have a certain feature or body shape that you do not want them to have, they can force it through anyway."

I considered that, then decided to push my luck by asking a follow up, "Does that include things that are not humanoid?"

He raised an eyebrow, "That is a different question."

I quickly argued, needing to know the actual important part of this answer, "It follows on from my previous one though, if a creature is more used to an animal appearance or has been forced to take the form due to a curse, would a Piece restore them to their human selves?"

He stared at me for a long moment, long enough that I feared he wouldn't answer the question, before he finally said, "Yes. It would."

I nodded to him thankfully, before he followed up with, "Now, however, is the time for my own question for you."

I waited nervously for his question, knowing there was a lot he could ask me that would really throw a wrench into my plans. I considered lying if the question was too incriminating, but for some reason the thought was uncomfortable to contemplate. Was this part of that whole 'deals have power' thing? Once I got my own phone, I really needed to look that up.

Ajuka looked contemplative for a moment, then spoke, "Here is my question: What type of Peerage do you want to have?"

Seeing my confusion on my face, he continued, "Their are many different types of Peerage. There are those that few them as a collection, a group of people with certain traits brought into their service purely for their amusement. There are those that view the Peerage as a type of family, a group brought together to support and assist one another. Still, there are also those that view their Peerage as tools, only thinking about their strength and what each can offer them. There are many more types aside. So, I ask again, what type of Peerage do you want to have?"

I considered the question. I already had a plan for every single piece of my Peerage, but admitting as much to Ajuka right now seemed like a phenomenally stupid idea. I decided to try and explain what unified all those I had in mind while still being as un-'truthful' as I could.

"I want my Peerage... to be like Ice." He looked interested at that and I knew he wouldn't let me go with just this, so I continued, "Ice is beautiful and can change its form depending on the situation. I want my Peerage to be able to support those they are warm to, but remain sharp and deadly to those they are against. Most of all, however, I would like each of them to be unique."

He smiled at that, seeming to come to some sort of epiphany, before remarking, "Already have a plan for your first Piece, I see."

I stilled, wondering how he figured that out before he finished, "Cleria is a fine choice. I'm sure you would not regret it."

Cleria? What the fuck? Did he think... No, wait, of course he did. It was the only logical conclusion, the way I played this obviously tipped my hand for having something in mind for my pieces, but the only person he thought I could have a plan for was Cleria. He probably thought my question was to make sure that she didn't grow too much older than my while I was still young. Of course, there was no way I was letting a fucking spy into my Peerage, but there was no need for him to know that.

The compulsion nudging me into truthfulness had faded, so with a smile all I replied was, "I'm sure I wouldn't."

I most certainly fucking would.

Calypso sighed, annoyed that this assignment was turning into even more of a slog then she had originally thought. The shape-shifter had been ordered to act as a maid for this Sagan boy, then report her findings to the Great Satans, more specifically directly to Serafall herself. Now, she was ordered to accept being inducted to the brat's Peerage to continue being a mole for the foreseeable future.

Now, don't get her wrong, being the Queen to the Lord of a Great House would certainly be something she wanted, but the whole 'spying on her King' thing felt like a live bomb someone had thrown into her lap, just primed to go off at any moment. She had been surprised when Serafall told her that Damocles wanted her in his Peerage, because for all she knew she thought the boy didn't like her.

He had kept his interactions with her to the absolute minimum before going off to study in his library or practice his family magic. She would be surprised if they had exchanged more than 20 words together. Still, it wouldn't be the first time in history that a boy had fallen for a girl older than himself, but be too shy to speak up to her about it.

Despite not being quite as ancient as her namesake, it was a story she had seen play out many times throughout her life. She sighed, at least the pay for this cluster fuck was good, way more than she got as as a standard employee of House Sitri. Even if she had to abuse a poor boy's trust.

Speaking of the boy, she had been suggested by Serafall to drag him out of the house to a nearby playground. Calypso watched as he interacted with the other kids, seeming to be quite the charmer. It seems Serafall's worrying that 'staying inside was stunting his social growth' was all for naught. He moved between groups of children seamlessly, integrating himself with an ease that frankly shocked her. Where was this gregarious go-getter at the Manor?

She was broken from her thoughts by one of the little girls he had spoken to alone walking up to her, crying. The child looked at her tearfully, as one of the few adults in the park, and sobbed, "I fell and hurt myself. Could you please help me?"

Indeed, one of the tykes knees was scratched. Calypso smiled kindly at the girl, "I can, but first I need to get the boy I'm watc..."

Her sentence trailed off as she looked over to where Damocles was. She panicked as she saw neither hide nor hair of him. She stood in a rush to desperately look around the playground, trying to catch a glimpse of his distinctive white hair, only to come up short.

"Oh nooooooooooooo..." She groaned, the hurt girl momentarily forgotten, "Serafall is going to kill me!"

Fuck me, I thought as I looked at the neo-futuristic streets of Seiran. Hypnosis is so damn useful, especially against people who can't resist it. A little finger wave, a suggestion to go fall off a swing then ask the nice maid for help and wham bam thank you ma'am, one easy distraction to go.

I had spent a lot of time since gaining my pieces preparing for this, looking at alternate timelines and choosing the perfect moment to get my first capture. I didn't think an opportunity would come so quick, but I wasn't complaining. Thankfully, I had already chosen my insertion point, just after Kasane had been framed for killing the Prime Minister and forced to defect to Seiran.

Indeed, as I looked up at the miniature black hole distorting the sky confirming my timing, I was finally in the world of Scarlet Nexus. The aforementioned black hole, the Kunad Gate, had been created by the very woman I was here to capture, Kasane Randall. She was a powerful Psychokinetic, with a speciality for manipulating gravity. Even better, I thought as I fingered the Bishop and Knight Pieces in my pocket, she was a two for one deal.

To get started on the actual recruitment itself, however, I needed to find her. Easier said than done, especially because, lacking an Implant myself, I could not see any of the street signs or other directional markings that were usually projected holographically to the people of this world. Luckily, I was able to ask directions from a nice older lady to the OSF (Other Suppression Force) HQ. From there, I was easily able to work my way back to the main entrance of the city.

I settled in to wait, knowing that I timed my arrival to Kasane also arriving back from inspecting the site the Kunad Gate was created. Sure enough, I soon saw Kasane walk through the gates of the city, followed by her squad. I walked up to her, gaining the attention of her cool gaze as well as the inquisitive looks from the rest of the team.

I smiled a charming smile, starting, "Miss Randall! I would like to talk to you about the Kunad Gate..."

She sighed, saying, "All enquiries can be directed to the OS..."

"...And your role in creating it." I finished.

Her team immediately tensed, hands inching for their weapons, but Kasane herself just seemed tired and waved them off. She seemed to just accept my knowledge of that particular titbit with remarkable aplomb. She looked at me with her crimson eyes, obviously wanting me to get on with it.

I regarded the obviously armed and dangerous people behind her, before asking, "Alone, please?"

She nodded, coldly telling her squad, "Stay here." Before following my directions to an out of the way bench I had found while wondering about.

Kyoka moved to protest, "Kasane, you can't..." She was cut off as Kasane just shot her a look, before shaking her head.

Kyoka seemed upset for a moment, before accepting it with a sigh. Kasane and I then continued on our way to have a life changing chat.

Serafall pouted at Ajuka, upset that he didn't let her go with Damocles to the playground to tease him and make him uncomfortable. The boy was a consummate introvert, like Sona-chan, thus Serafall knew being dragged out of the house and forced to socialize would be a delightful form of torture to the boy. Ajuka hadn't even reacted to her pouting, which only made her pout harder.

Sirzechs finally stopped his report and addressed her, "Serafall, focus. Ajuka was right, giving him more time to spend with Cleria alone was a smart choice. We have other things to focus on, like our shortage of Phoenix Tears or, for example, your recent meeting with Gabriel?"

She heaved a sighed, hating it when Sirzechs was all responsible and serious.

What proceeded was another mind numbing meeting between the Four Satans, with Sirzechs telling them things they already knew, Serafall telling them things they couldn't do anything about, Ajuka telling them things that flat out didn't help and Falbium telling them nothing at all.

It made them sound useless, but truthfully, their role had been turned a lot more ceremonial over the decades. Without a majority backing in the Court, they couldn't truly push through the reforms they needed to the internal Devil administration. Their diplomatic efforts were complicated by centuries of war, on top of an unfortunate set of very recent mistakes.

The research Ajuka does was truly ground breaking, but a lot of it just wasn't viable for mass production. As for Falbium, without actively being at war his input was minimal at best. Hell's armies were kept in good order and remained well supplied, thus he truly had nothing of note to bring to their attention.

That was why they were so desperate to... 'acquire' the support of House Sagan. One more house voting in their favour or speaking in their support in the Court would be a benefit, as well as perhaps pushing some of their more marginal policies over the line of acceptance.

Just as Serafall was about to explain that Yasaka still hadn't answered her missives, she was cut off by a cutesy ringtone. She recognized it, due to it being the theme song of her own Mahou Shoujo show. Ignoring the dry looks of the other Satans, she brought out her phone and smiled as she saw the caller ID.

"Hello, Cleria. How's Damocles?"

She listened to whatever was said on the other side of the line, then exploded in a way that made even Falbium sit up and pay attention.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'MISSING'?"

AN: Turns out the Satans discuss other things in meetings instead of the MC. Who knew?

Will reply to each comment in another post, so if you see another big word dump today that's probably it.

Some explanation on the Ajuka scene, he concluded that Damocles was looking to induct Calypso/Cleria due a combination of factors, but the most prominent one being as described in the Chapter: Damocles obviously having a plan for the Pieces and no one else readily available to be a candidate. One of the symptoms of Psychopathy is impulsive behavior, so Damocles immediately using a piece on the only attractive girl he knows is pretty consistent with his previous diagnosis.

The reason Ajuka is going with this Psychopath line of thought is because he's falling into a trap a lot of intelligent people fall into: Coming up with a hypothesis that fits the evidence, feeling good about yourself for sussing out the 'truth', then seeing things that concur with your conclusion due to confirmation bias.

Remember, Ajuka is also kind of emotionally stunted and is likely a high functioning autist. He's not well versed in social interaction, that's Serafall's job. There's obviously something wrong with Damocles, due to him acting incredibly out of character for a child, and his theory about psychopathy seems to fit, which is why Serafall agreed with it.

Like it or not, if you were sent back to live as a 12 year old with all your memories and current personality, you would seriously freak people out by acting way more mature then you should. People in stories just accepting the MC's act like full adults while still being children always struck me as weird.