Chapter 24

Thursday, December 1, 2022.

"Oh man my body hurts so bad..." I complain, pedaling at full speed toward my new client.

Very early this morning, All Might made me run for miles, without stopping, then a few hours ago, he took me to a gym and made me work my upper body with every possible instrument, real torture.

And tonight I have to get on with my devil's work. So far I've been visiting Morisawa-san, but I've got a new client, living in the wealthy districts of Fuyuki, not far from Shuka basically.

I arrive at his door and ring the bell. A devil ringing the doorbell... depressing. I'll probably never get the chance to use the teleportation...

"It's opened. Come in-nyou." Then after a short time, there is a reply through the inter-phone.

It's really a thick voice. It's a guy. Huh? "Nyou"? Did he just say "Nyou"? No, it must be my ears.

I open the door, took off my shoes at the entrance and walk timidly into the mansion. When I arrive in the entrance hall, I became speechless.

"Welcome-nyou."

A humongous body and an overwhelming presence. It's an enormous guy with incredible muscles wearing a gothic-lolita outfit. If I look carefully, the buttons on the outfit looks like they are about to fall off. There also some places in his outfit which looks like it's about to get ripped.

More than that, his eyes are filled with overwhelming killing intent but his eyes have a glow of a pure innocent person. No, the most unusual thing is his head. He has cat-ears. I swallow down my spit. A single sweat drops from my cheek. My hands are shaking because I'm getting nervous. An overwhelming presence and the sense of being in danger. I have a hunch. A hunch that I will be killed in an unreasonable death.

"U-Umm...a Devil...did you summon a Devil from the Gremory group...?" I ask him timidly.

The man's eye glows, It feels like there is intense battle spirit between us. I changed my posture to protect myself.

"That's right-nyou. I called Devil-san because I want to make a wish–nyou." Unexpected words came out from his thick mouth. He ends his sentences with "nyou"? "I want you to make Mil-tan a Magical Girl–nyou."

"Am I dreaming or am I really awake?" I have to slap my cheeks to check. I hold my head down because of his wish is something beyond what I expected.

(Mil-tan!? What the heck is Mil-tan!?)

This man's words starts to confuse me.

"Well, Devil-san?"

"Just give me a second to absorb what's happening..."

"Please Devil-san, there was no-one who would give Mil-tan magical power-nyou."

"Yeah... I can understand why..."

"The only option left is to ask my arch-enemy, Devil-san-nyou."

I already have myself treated as his enemy without realising it... But I won't say anything to him.

"Devil-san~!" The voice released by this man, Mil-tan, shakes the whole room. "Please give Mil-tan a fantasy-like powers-nyoooooou!" And... he starts to cry.

(Dammit, How come all the clients I'm in charge of are bunch of weirdo!? What's the meaning of this!?)

"Mil-tan! Mil-tan, calm down! I will listen to what you have to say!" First things first, I think I need to calm this man down and listen to his story.

Mil-tan puts on a big smile with his scary face after he wipes his tears.

"Then let's watch "Magical Girl Milky Spiral 7 Alternative" together–nyou. The story about the magic starts from there–nyou."

My long night has begun.

Friday, December 2, 2022.

I'm on my way to the beach after the regular club activity ended.

"Haa..." I made a sigh.

Even today, Rias put on a weird expression. My contract became invalid twice in a row. But I got the best feedback. Rias became confused again because she encountered an incident that she never has experienced twice in a row. I'm sorry for getting involved in a weird situation. I feel bad, but it seems like my road to getting stronger will be harder than I thought...

Last night, I watched the anime DVD till morning with Mil-tan. At first I wasn't serious in watching it, but I got hooked to the Magical Girl anime due its actions and the story, so I ended up watching till morning. Besides that, why are all of my clients a bunch of weirdos?

"Ahaha, you must have a power that attracts people like that." Kiba said something like that to me earlier.

(Yeah... can't blame him, I've got a good feeling he's right...)

As I change the subject and think about the ones All Might is going to put me through today...

"Hawaau!" I hear someone fall behind me.

When I turned around, there is a Sister who is on the floor. She is spreading her arms wide open and has her face on the ground. That certainly is a clumsy way of falling down.

"...A-Are you okay?" I approach the Sister and give her my hand so she can stand up.

"Auu. Why do I keep on tripping over... Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you very much~." Judging from her voice, she is young. Is she the same age as me?

I take her hand to lift her up. The Sister's veil flies off because of the wind, her blonde hair, which is hidden underneath, falls down onto her shoulders. Her straight blonde hair is sparkling with light because of the sunshine. Then my eyes move towards her face. Both of her green eyes look so beautiful that it feels I will be sucked into it... For a while, I was gazing at her.

"U-Umm... Is something wrong..?" The Sister looks directly into my face with a worried expression.

"Ah. No, sorry."

Then the travelling bag she is carrying on her shoulder appears to my eyes. If I think about it, it's a rare occasion to see a nun in a town. It's my first time seeing one. Before that, I need to pick up her veil. Luckily, it landed nearby.

"Traveling?"

"No, that's not it. I was appointed to the Church in this town... You must be a resident of this town. It's a pleasure to meet you." She bows her head.

Hmmm. Getting placed in the Church of this town. Staff reassignment? Looks like the Church is also having a tough time.

"I have been in trouble since I got here. Ummm...I can't speak Japanese that well...I was lost and other people couldn't understand what I was saying..." She holds her hand together in front of her chest and looks really sad.

So that means this person can't speak Japanese. The reason why she can speak with me is because of the Devil's power. That's what Rias told me before.

"When you turn into a Devil, one of the unique ability you attain is "Language". The moment you turn into a Devil, everyone in the world can understand what you are saying. People listening to you will hear it in the language they are most familiar with. If they are American, then they will hear it in English. If they are Spanish, then they will hear it in Spanish. And also the opposite. If they speak in a language besides Japanese, you will hear it in Japanese." Yeah, its happening just like Rias said.

"I know where the church is." Even though Kiritsugu always warned me not to go near it. He had... let's say problems with the Church in general.

"Y-You do! T-Thank you~! This is all thanks to God!" She smiles at me with tears flowing from her eyes. This girl is really cute.

But when I look at the Rosario glowing from her chest, it gives me an extremely negative reaction. Well, of course it does, since I'm a Devil. She is the type of human that I shouldn't talk to or get involved with. But I can't leave a girl in trouble alone. Like this, I took this Sister to the Church.

On our way to the Church, we went past a park.

"Uwaaaaaah!" We hear the cry of a boy.

"Are you alright Yosh-kun?" He will be fine since he is with his mum. It seems like he just tripped over.

But suddenly, the Sister who is walking behind me walks towards the park. She go inside the park and went towards the boy who is sitting down and crying and I follow her.

"Hey, Are you okay? Boys shouldn't cry with a minor injury like this." She pats the boy's head gently.

The boy probably didn't understand what she is saying. But the Sister has a very kind expression. She put her palm where the boy has injured himself. A green light orb appears from the Sister's palm and is flashing onto the boy's knee and the injury starts to disappear. But Looking at that light makes my left arm ache.

"A Sacred Gear..." I hear Ddraig's mumbling.

(Huh, it's the first time I've met another wearer, what a strange feeling. Did my Sacred Gear react with her Sacred Gear? Is it responding to it?)

When I look again, the boy's injury is gone and there isn't even a trace left.

"Here, your wounds are healed. The pain should be gone now." The Sister pats the boy's head and looks at me. "I'm sorry. But I had to." She laughs while sticking her tongue out.

The boy's mother grabbed his hand so they could leave quickly, bowing to the sister beforehand.

"Thank you, Onee-chan!" The boy's words.

"He said, thank you Onee-chan." She smiles happily after I translated for her. "...That power..."

"Yes, it's the power to heal. It's a wonderful power that God gave me." She looks a bit sad, even though she's smiling.

She doesn't seem to know the importance of her power... and it looks like it wasn't easy for her either. Obviously, we're very similar in this aspect.

I would have liked to reassure her that I too possess great power... But it's better for her not to know anything about me, she's already suffered enough.

I'll always remember the first time Ddraig showed up. It was terrifying, as if something uncontrollable was taking over part of my body.

The conversation ends there, and we continued walking towards the Church. We reached it after walking for a few minutes. The only Church in Fuyuki is this. It's just as old as I remember. I never heard that this place is still being used, but you can see the light inside the Church, so that means that there are people inside.

Suddenly, I have chills, and sweats are coming out of my body. I knew it. I'm a Devil, so the Church, which belongs to the God and the Angels, will be an enemy's territory for me. Even Rias said that I should never get close to a Church or a shrine very strongly

"Yes, this is the place! I'm so glad." She shows a sigh of relief after having compared our location with the map she has.

Oh, so this is the right place. That's good. I shouldn't stay here any longer. It's getting dark so I should be going now. I can feel their gaze on me.

"Then I'll be on my way." I say my farewell and tried to leave.

"Please wait!" but the Sister's words stops me. "I would like to make you some tea as a gratitude for taking me here..."

"Oh, I'm in a rush so I have to get going."

"...But that's..." She's troubled.

She probably wants to make me some tea to show her gratitude, but drinking tea here will be dangerous. I have to refuse.

"My name is Emiya Senji, you can call me Senji. What's your name?" When I give her my name, she responds with a smile.

"My name is Asia Argento! Please call me Asia!"

"Then, Sister Asia, let's meet again."

"Yes! Senji-san, I will definitely come and see you!" She bows her head down.

I left the place after waving my hands towards her. She watched me until I was out of her sight.

On the beach, I'm constantly clearing away all this pollution. Then, after a while, I notice a large veil covering something, so I pull it back and fold it up to see... a van.

"Who the fuck leaves their van on a beach?!"

"Well, he even remembered to remove his license plate, not dumb the guy." Observe All Might.

I sigh and approach. It's completely out of order, the windows and headlights are broken, everything's rusted and the wheels are white, having lost their color over the years.

"How long has it been here?" I wonder, coming up from behind and starting to push it.

But it doesn't move. All Might nods in dissatisfaction. I head for the driver's door, to see the parking brake up. I pass my hand through the broken window, careful of the glass, then open the door, which as I open it, falls.

I bring the door into the All Might van, then lower the brake. I start pushing again. It starts to move, but with an unbearable creak, the wheel plates must be too rusty to turn. But I push on, inching forward.

After several minutes, I finally managed to push it to the side of the road. All Might has called the pound and is taking care of the explanations. Meanwhile, I'm taking advantage of this moment to rest on the cleaned sand.

"Well, look at that Senji, almost half the beach is cleaned, well done!"

"Yay..." I'm too tired to enjoy it.

"Good! Next time, remember to bring your swim shorts!"

"Excuse me?" I stand up.

"There's nothing better for building muscle than swimming!"

"But the water's ice-cold!"

"Even better!"

"Oh shit..."

At night, in the occult research club.

"Don't ever get close to the Church again." I'm being scolded by Rias in the club room.

Rias's expression looks more serious than usual. More like, she is really mad at me.

"To us Devils, the Church is an enemy's territory. Just stepping into it can cause a rift between the Devils and God. Since it was an act of kindness by taking the nun to the Church, they didn't harm you, but the Angels are always on the lookout. You were in a situation where it wouldn't be strange for them to hit you with a spear of light."

"Yeah, I felt it..." The shiver that ran through my body at that moment wasn't harmless, that much was clear.

"Don't get involved with people from the Church. Especially the Exorcists who are our biggest enemy. They could easily eliminate us because their powers are supported by the prayer of God. More so if it is an Exorcist with a Sacred Gear. That would be the same as standing on the boundary of death, Senji." She looks at me directly with her blue eyes while waving her crimson hair.

"Yeah okay, no problem."

"You could avoid death as a human by being resurrected as a Devil. But Devils who are exorcised become completely terminated. They return to nothing. Nothing. There is nothing left and you feel nothing. Do you know how serious that is?"

(Nothing... I must have felt it at some point, but not that bad.)

"I'm sorry. I got too heated. Anyway, be careful from now on." Rias shakes her head after seeing my confused face.

"Yes." My conversation with Rias ends there.

"Ara ara, did you finish lecturing him?"

"Owaa." Akeno-san is standing behind me and I didn't even realise it. She is smiling like usual.

"Akeno, did something happen?" Akeno-san's expression changes after Rias asks her.

"We got an emergency call from Venus."

"Venus?" I repeat, surprised that they're collaborating.

Stray devils. There are beings that are called as such. The Devil who was turned into a Servant Devil of a Devil with a peerage but who betrayed or killed its master. Cases like that rarely occur. So there will be those who choose to use their freedom for their own benefit. Those Devils leave their master's place and cause destruction at different location. That is a "Stray Devil".

I fought one not so long ago with the help of a hero. When one is found, it's the role of Shinobi, Devil or certain heroes to eliminate it.

Other beings such as Angels and Fallen Angels sees them as threats and they will eliminate the Stray Devils whenever found.

There is nothing scarier than a Devil who does not abide by any rule, I saw it head-on.

I went to the unused building located at the outer part of the town along with Buchou, Akeno-san, Kiba, and Koneko-chan featuring Venus members Shiria, Yan Min and Demitra.

"Ah there you are at last, we were thinking of eliminating it for you." Yan Min pretends to yawn when she sees us coming.

"Good evening to you, sorry for the delay." Rias replied politely.

"Senji-kun!" Shiria takes me in her arms, happy to see me.

"Yes good evening Shiria..." I gasp.

"Ara ara, I see you're getting along well." Akeno teases us.

"Well, according to the reports from the shinobi who found him, he lures his victims into this building to devour them, so Akaya decided to take the case." Demitra explains.

"By the way, where is Akaya-sensei?" I ask, pulling myself out of Shiria's hug.

"Oh, like you know, he's probably off hitting on I don't know who I don't know where." Yan Min says to me.

"Um, how would I know that? I don't know this guy, except as a teacher." I'm confused.

"Really? You don't remember anything? Ah that's boring..." Yan Min looks disappointed.

"That's enough Yan, it doesn't matter if he doesn't remember. But I'd like to say that you've changed completely, Senji." Demitra gives me a sincere smile.

"Um..." I'm completely lost. I turn to Shiria, who gives me a big smile.

"We'll have plenty of time to talk about it!" She says.

"Well if you don't mind, we're going to start the extermination. Let's get on with it, shall we?" Rias draws our attention.

"Do you need a hand?" Yan Min asks mockingly.

"No thanks, we'll take care of it quickly." Rias replied, proudly.

"Very well, we'll stay outside on guard, in case he gets away." Demitra remains professional.

We enter the grounds, there's a lot of tall grass around us, and the unused building is really creepy.

"...Smell of blood." Koneko-chan covers her nose with her uniform after she says that.

Smell of blood? I can't smell anything. So it means Koneko-chan has a good sense of smell. It becomes quiet. I can feel the presence of an enemy nearby, and its intent to kill us isn't normal.

"Wait a minute, if it's Akaya who has to deal with this, why are we here?" The wires touched in my head.

"Well, they can't act without his presence, so the most appropriate people for the job are us. We have no restrictions, being devil ourselves." Akeno explains.

"I see..." (That Akaya, he's so weird.)

"Senji, tonight you will not participate." Rias turns to me.

"Ah, why?"

"You've already fought a Stray Devil. So we're going to take this opportunity to show you what we can do. I'll also take this opportunity to explain each of our roles to you."

"Role? Ah in relation to the chess piece is it?"

"Exactly. Yes, it's probably about time I explain about it and also about the history of Devils."

Rias starts to explain about the current situation of the Devils.

"Long time ago, there was a three sided war between the Devils, the Fallen Angels, and God with its Angels followers. All three sides had a large army and they fought for almost eternity. As a result, all three sides lost most of their troops and the war finished several hundred years ago with no side winning."

Kiba continues after Rias.

"The Devils were no exception. Big Devils with peerage who commanded about 20 or 30 troops lost most of their underlings because of the war. They lost so many that they couldn't even form new armies."

Akeno-san continues on from there.

"I heard that most of the pure Devils passed away in that war. Even after the war, there are still problems between the Devils, the Fallen Angels and God. Even though the Fallen Angels' and God's side also lost most of their troops, we are still in a position where we can't let our guard down, or else we will be in trouble."

Then, Rias speaks again.

"Then, the Devils decided to use a system to form a small group of soldiers. And that is the [Evil Piece]."

"Okay, I get the picture." (It's quite a mess their stories, a bit like humans you'll tell me.)

"Devils with Peerage decide to use the traits of the human's game "Chess" to their Servant Devils. It was also sarcasm, because most of the servants are Devils that were reincarnated from humans. Since then, Chess became a popular game in the world of the Devils. We'll leave that aside. Devils who are masters are a [King]. In our case, that is me. From there, they created 5 special traits that consist of [Queen], [Knight], [Rook], [Bishop] and [Pawn]. Since they couldn't make an army, they decided to have a small number of Devils and give them enormous powers. This system was made in the past few hundred years, and this unexpectedly became popular amongst Devils with peerage."

"Popular? You mean the Chess rule?"

"They started to compete against each other. For example like, "My Knight is stronger!", or "No, my Rook is stronger!" As a result, High-class Devils started to play a game like that of Chess against each other using their Servant Devils. We call it the "Rating Game". Anyway, this game became very popular amongst the Devils. Now, there are even tournaments for it. The strength of their [Pieces] and also how strong they are at the game affects the Devils' social position, and their peerage. There is a thing called [Piece Collect] where they gather humans with talents and make them into their [Pieces]. It's very popular recently. Talented servants become their status."

"Okay, I see the project yes. So being strong in that game means that you are a splendid Devil. It also becomes your pride then but hum... So will I be someday forced to fight in that game?"

"I'm not a matured Devil yet, so I can't participate in the official tournament. Even if I could, there are things that I need to go through, or else I can't play. In short, You and my other servants here won't be participating in a game for a while."

"So does that mean that Kiba and the others haven't played in that game yet?"

"Yeah." Kiba answers my question.

The world of devils is a strange one. Even if many people still have mixed opinions about their presence in the human world, they're not so terrifying as all that. On the contrary, they're having the time of their lives, a bit like us. Or maybe I'm just ignorant of the Devil world and don't get it, possible too.

Before that, there's something that's been bothering me. Since I've absorbed all 8 pawns, does that mean the kind I'm thinking about, or...?

"Um, Buchou, So as the only pawn, I'm the team's disposable piece, aren't I?" I ask, hoping for a negative answer.

"Senji, you are..." She stops there.

I also know the reason why. I can feel chills all over my body. That's because of the presence of the enemy and its intent to kill became much stronger. There is something approaching us.

"I can smell something disgusting. But I can also smell something delicious. Is it sweet? Or is it sour?" A low voice which is coming from below the ground.

"Stray Devil Vaizor. We are here to eliminate you." Rias says that.

"Ketaketaketaketaketaketaketaketaketaketaketaketaketaketaketaketa..." The abnormal laughter echoes around us.

A topless woman appears from the shadow. But the woman's body is floating. A heavy footsteps. The next thing that appears is the body of a gigantic beast. It's a grotesque being with an unnatural form having a woman's upper body and the lower body of a monster. It's holding something that looks like a spear in both of its hands.

The lower body of the monster has four fat legs with sharp claws with a snake tail that is moving on its own. From the size of it, it's definitely more than 5 meters tall.

(Okay... it's terrifying, but less so than the other one.)

"Leaving your master's side and rampaging as you please definitely deserve death. In the name of Duke Gremory, I will gladly eliminate you!"

"You are cunning for a little girrrrrrl! I will rip your body, and colour it in red just like your haaaaaaair!" The monster barks, but Rias just laughs with her nose.

"Grunts sure do speak in a stylish manner. Yuuto!"

"Yes!" Kiba, who was near me, sprints ahead as soon as Buchou gives him an order. Fast. He's insanely fast.

"Senji, I will continue from the lecture before." Rias says. "Yuuto's position is [Knight]. Its trait is speed. Those who become a [Knight] have their speed increased."

Just like Rias said, Kiba's speed increases, and eventually I wasn't able to follow his movements with my eyes. The monster is using its spear to attack, but it didn't seem like it will hit.

"And Yuuto's ultimate weapon is swords."

Kiba stops and suddenly he is holding onto a sword. He took it out of the scabbard, and the drawn sword is reflecting the light of the moon. Kiba suddenly disappears again. Next moment, the scream of the monster echoes.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

When I looked, both of its arms are cut from its torso along with the spear. Blood gushes out of its wound.

"This is Yuuto's power. Speed that you can't follow with your eyes, and sword skills of a professional. By combining th
ese two, he becomes the fastest Knight."

There is a shadow near the monster's legs... That's Koneko-chan.

"Next is Koneko. She is a [Rook]. The trait of a Rook is its..."

"Damn inseeeeeeeeect!" The enormous monster tries to stomp on Koneko-chan.

"K-Koneko-chan! Hey, she's in trouble..." I stop, surprised.

But the monster's foot didn't hit the ground. It wasn't able to stomp completely. The girl with a tiny body is lifting up the monster's foot.

"The trait of a [Rook] is simple. Absolute strength. And also very high defence. It's impossible for a Devil with that calibre to stamp on Koneko. It can't crush her."

Koneko-chan completely lifts up the monster.

"...Fly." Koneko-chan jumps high and punches into the monster's stomach very sharply.

The enormous body of the monster gets thrown backwards. I then remembered the word of the client that loves Koneko-chan, Morisawa-san.

'Koneko-chan has extreme strength. She carried me like a princess.'

(It's not something you call extreme strength! That enormous monster went flying with just one punch!)

Super-human girl. Scary indeed. Morisawa-san who fell in love with her is also scary.

"Lastly, Akeno."

"Yes, Buchou. Ara ara, what should I do?" Akeno-san is laughing while walking towards the monster that is on the ground after being hit by Koneko-chan.

"Akeno is a [Queen]. She's the one who is the strongest after me. She is the unbeatable Vice-president of our club who has all the traits of [Pawn], [Knight], [Bishop], and [Rook]."

"Guuuuuu...!" The monster stares at Akeno-san. Akeno-san makes a fearless laugh after seeing the monster's gaze.

"Ara ara, seems like you still have some energy left in you. Then how about this?" Akeno-san puts her hands towards the sky.

Next instant, the sky sparkles, and a lightning bolt strikes down the monster.

"Gagagagagagagagagagagagaaa!" The monster gets electrified violently. Its entire body gets burnt and smoke are coming out from it.

"Ara ara, looks like you still have some energy in you. Looks like you can take more." Another lightning bolt hit the monster.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" The monster gets electrified again. It already sounds like its dying.

Even so, Akeno-san strikes down the third lightning. Akeno-san's face while striking down the lightning bolt looks scary and cold even though she is smiling.

(Uwaah. That person is enjoying it... She's laughing after all.)

"Akeno excels at attacks using demonic powers. She could use natural elements like lightning, ice, and fire. And most of all, she is the ultimate sadist." Rias confesses it like if it's nothing.

(A sadist!? That's not something you call a sadist!?)

"Usually, she's very kind, but once the battle starts, she won't stop until she calms down."

"Yeah... She's scary..."

"You don't have to be afraid, Senji. Akeno is very kind to comrades, so it's not a problem. She even said that you were cute. Next time, get spoiled by her. She will definitely hug you kindly."

"Ufufufufufufufu. How much of my lightning can you take? Right, monster-san? You still can't die yet, okay? The one who finishes you off will be my master. Ohohohohohohoho!"

(No, I'm not going to be spoiled by her, it's not normal to take pleasure in killing).

For a few minutes, Akeno-san's lightning attacks continues. After Akeno-san calms down, Rias confirms it and nods her head. She approaches the monster that has already lost its will to fight and put her hand towards the monster.

"Any last words?" She asks.

"Kill me." That's the only thing the monster says.

"Then disappear." A gigantic black mass of power is shot out from Rias's palm.

It's so big that it can cover all of the monster's body. The mass of power devours the monster's body. When the power disappears, so did the monster's body. Confirming that, Rias makes a sigh.

"It's over. Good work everyone." Rias says it to the club members.

Everyone returns back to their usual self. So the "Stray Devil" hunt is over.

At least it went better than my first hunt for the Stray Devil. No, something's bothering me, it was much simpler. In comparison, I'm not sure that we'd have succeeded in killing him, the difference in strength between the two is far too great...

"Senji? Is everything okay?" I hear Rias calling my name.

"Ah? Yes, what is it?" I focus on her.

"It's about your pawn status, don't worry, it's obviously out of the question for you to be considered a disposable part. I'll explain everything in detail later, okay?" She explains.

"Okay, no problem." I nod, but I can't get the image of that monster I fought that night out of my head.

"All right, let's get out of here and tell Venus the good news."

I watch them emerge one by one. I turn around one last time, looking at the still-smoldering area where the Stray Devil used to be.

(You think I'm worried about nothing?)

"Probably, after all, maybe she was just weaker than the other one, so weak that you could have taken care of her on your own." Ddraig reassures me.

(...That doesn't really reassure me...)

As I leave the property, I see the club members chatting with Venus, and then I see a head that has just arrived, Tohsaka Rin. Shiria is the first to notice me. She runs and grabs my arm.

"Good job Senji!"

"I was just a spectator."

"Oh really? And why are you sneaking out after everyone else?" She asks me.

"Something was bothering me, so I stayed a little longer."

"The call of nature?" She asks me seriously.

"Huh? What? No! Something else!"

"What's that?" Rin joins us.

"Hmm? Good evening Tohsaka."

"Good evening Emiya-kun, so what's on your mind?" She asks with her slight smile.

"Nothing to worry about, it's probably just me thinking too big for nothing."

"Okay, if you say so." Tohsaka seems disappointed with my answer.

"Shiria, let's go! Until next time Senji."

The Venus members greet us one last time before leaving. And we do the same, going home for the most part without a care in the world. But I can't help worrying... about my status as a pawn.

Good evening, thank you for reading this chapter. I can't wait to write the next chapters! I know it's early stages and it takes a while to get everything in place, but I promise it's going to pay off. Anyway, see you next week!