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….
"Will that be all?" Rias asked, her tone clipped but resigned as she listened to my demands.
"Yes," I said.
I let the volatile magic in my hands dissipate, the blue sparks fading into nothing. I walked past Rias's desk, heading straight for Mara Kiba, who was still kneeling on the floor and wincing from the aftershocks of the electricity.
I knelt beside her and placed my hand on her shoulder. [Healing Hands] flared to life, the warm, golden magic seeping into her muscles, soothing the burns and neutralizing the spasms. Kiba looked up at me, her eyes wide with a mix of confusion and lingering caution, but I didn't say a word to her.
Once her breathing steadied, I stood up, turned my back on the Occult Research Club, and walked out the door.
I didn't care what they did next. I had drawn my line in the sand, and I had dealt with my immediate problem. Like a boss.
…
By the time evening rolled around, I was standing in my kitchen, chopping vegetables for dinner.
I had squeezed in a quick training session in the Instant Dungeon before taking a shower, pushing my overall level up to 30. But the grind was starting to hit a wall. The EXP required to level up had spiked dramatically. I didn't mind, though; I needed to refine my base skills anyway. I made a mental note to get my core Destruction, Alteration, and Restoration spells to at least level 25 before I even thought about stepping foot back into the Skyrim world. I couldn't afford to be sloppy.
As I tossed the chopped bell peppers into a sizzling pan, my [Presence] skill suddenly pinged in the back of my mind.
Two distinct, powerful magical signatures had just stepped onto my property. And they were walking right up to my front door.
Ding-dong.
I let out a heavy sigh, turning off the stove. I wiped my hands on a dish towel, walked through the quiet house, and opened the front door. To absolutely no one's surprise, Rias Gremory was standing on my porch. And right behind her, wearing her usual serene smile, was Akeno Himejima.
"Good evening," Rias said politely, though her eyes were carefully observing my reaction. "May we come in?"
I leaned against the doorframe, blocking the entrance. "The question isn't whether you may come in. The question is whether I should let you."
Before Rias could respond, a translucent blue screen materialized right between us.
[Quest Alert: Hear Rias Out]
Description:You and the heiress got off on the wrong foot. It's time to listen to what the Devil has to say.
Objective:Allow Rias inside and have a civil conversation.
Success:Improve your relationship with the Gremory peerage.
Failure:Make a permanent enemy out of a High-Class Devil household.
(Notice: This Quest is Mandatory to progress the main storyline!)
I stared at the floating text, my eye twitching slightly. Mandatory? Seriously? The system was literally railroading me to keep me from getting myself killed by my own stubbornness.
I let out a sharp exhale and stepped aside, gesturing into the hallway. "Come in."
Rias stepped past me, a faint, victorious smile touching her lips. "I knew you weren't completely heartless, Shiro."
"Bite me, Gremory," I muttered as I closed the door.
"Oh, my," Akeno giggled softly as she walked past, leaning in just a fraction closer than necessary. "Only if I get to bite you first, fufufu."
I shot Akeno a flat look, refusing to take the bait, and Rias wisely cleared her throat to dismiss her Queen's teasing.
I led them into the living room and told them to make themselves comfortable while I went to check on the food in the oven. When I came back with three glasses of ice water, Rias was sitting on my couch, casually looking over some of my graded school papers that I had left on the coffee table.
I set the glasses down, deliberately sliding my homework out of her reach. "Water?" I offered.
"I'm fine, thank you," Akeno declined politely, choosing to remain standing right behind Rias like a loyal bodyguard.
I took a sip of my own water and sat down in the armchair opposite them. "So, what do you want to talk about, Rias? I notice you brought Akeno—your strongest piece—with you, but left the rest at the club. Am I supposed to feel threatened?"
"Not at all," Rias said smoothly, folding her hands in her lap. "I brought Akeno because she is my second-in-command. I came here because I feel we may have started off on the wrong foot this afternoon."
"You think, or you know?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Rias sighed, her perfect posture dropping just a fraction. "I know we started off on the wrong foot. I overstepped by having Koneko watch you. But surely you can forgive me for being curious about a supposedly normal human manifesting high-tier magic in my territory."
"All I know, Rias," I said, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees, "is that if this had happened back in the Underworld, spying on an unaffiliated magic user without permission would have forced someone to explain themselves to the Maous very quickly."
Rias's cyan eyes widened slightly. "You certainly seem to know a lot about Underworld politics for someone who has never been there."
"That might be true. But I also know exactly why you came to the human world in the first place," I countered, testing the waters.
Rias fell silent for a moment, her gaze turning analytical. "I see. You are incredibly well-read on my family."
"Just on you, I'm afraid," I replied. "Though I doubt you have a lot of information to go on when it comes to me. Do you?"
Rias leaned back into the couch cushions. "You're quite right. I barely know anything about your magic. But I do know about you, Shiro. Or, at least, I know why you live in this house all alone."
I blinked, genuinely surprised.
Since waking up in this world, I hadn't possessed the original Shiro's memories. I just woke up with the Gamer system and adapted. I had noticed the lack of family photos, the empty rooms, and the quietness of the house, but I hadn't dug into it.
"You lost your mother to cancer when you were ten years old," Rias said, her voice dropping into a soft, somber tone. "And three years later, your father fell into heavy drinking. It led to... suicide. Leaving you entirely alone."
The living room went dead quiet.
Rias watched my face closely. She wanted to see me flinch. She wanted a crack in my armor, a sign of vulnerability she could use to understand me.
But as the words settled in my mind, a dark realization clicked into place. Before I had gone into Skyrim, before the Gamer's Body had purged all the physical defects from my flesh, I had noticed faint, jagged scars on my wrists and thighs. I had assumed they were from some childhood accident.
Now, I knew the truth. The Shiro before me hadn't just been lonely; he had been broken. The scars were self-inflicted. The original owner of this body had been dealing with a level of trauma I hadn't even considered.
"That is a lot of pain for a young boy to deal with," Rias said gently. "Don't you think?"
….
Hey guys if u like the fanfic and want to read ahead by 10+ Chapters or just want to support take a visit on my patreon.
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
http://patreon.com/Marin_kitawaga